The Writing On The Wall
by taiyou-no-tsuki
Summary: I never expected anything, yet anything came back, along with you. Sequel to Do You See Me? FINISHED
1. Inside Out

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehehe.. I like that part too… don't know when I thought about that, already forgot… I know that it wasn't very much of a happy ending… for me it's partly because I do not want her to be so lucky as to get the right one you know like for the first time… I mean, exactly how many people gets that happy ending right away? I feel that happy endings take time, but it doesn't have to be with the person you really like, because in order to create a sort of average person, I can't be all that dramatic and make them catch diseases all of a sudden, or devastating earthquakes, or instant bankruptcy, or death, for me it'd be too much, and so by not ending them up together, I'm creating more of a minor, or relatable fact that readers can much easily relate to, or more of the majority can relate to… sometimes it may be awkward, especially if you've been friends for that long, but my friend tells me that it's also better for you to be friends first… but yeah… new question that will be answered here is… did mitsui ever had any feelings for her? Hehe… well in that case, I guess it's okay… though I can't find much humor to put in here about computers… hehehe.. I hope you'll continue to read this fic…

**Coffeemaverick**: thank you… hehehehe.. it serves almost as if an alternate answer to the question.. hehehe.. here is the part 2 for that.. took a bit long.. because I was sick… hehehehe… besides… I needed to think quite carefully of the pairing… I don't know if you'll like the pairing… since mitsui and Karin really seemed to be compatible in one way… but I'll try my best to sort of almost justify them… hehe..

**Simmic**: hehehe… I think a lot of us do want them to end up together… but I want to portray life as it is - it's not so perfect… I want her to be able to experience what life truly is - as something not so perfect… and so by not allowing her to have what she truly wanted, is one indication of that… it's like it's your first shot, it's much more common not to get that shot in, in my opinion… yes… for me… this door has already closed… I even got a quote about that… and so there's a new chapter in her life… and mainly because… the "you" will change… hehe.. you'll have to figure out who though.. hehehe… but I'll eliminate possible prospects as we go by… I'll eliminate a couple right now, at the end of this chapter… I hope you will continue to read this fic…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

_"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."_

_-Alexander Graham Bell-_

I sat, waited for the sun to rise. I wanted to cry, one last time, but I couldn't, so the rain cried for me. I could feel it dampen my clothing, soak my skin, trickle to my soul. But soon, I could no longer feel the tears, though I could still see them. I did not move. "Hey, are you blind?" A hand waved in front of me. A jolt travelled to my head. "Ok, so you're not." I longed to be alone, and yet, I cannot be. I turned to fully look at him. I could only hear the raindrops tapping on his umbrella. And soon I was all alone, alone with you. "Hey, quit staring at me like I can't see you. 'Cause I can." Funny, that was the answer I longed to hear from you.

He was the reason I stopped crying. He was the something, the anything, and the everything that made me forget. He was-

The umbrella could no longer keep the rain from falling. It numbed my skin, but as it trickled down my cheek it thawed it. It burned, contouring my skin. "Hey, are you alright? I didn't – I mean – please don't – um –" I could hear him, clearly, calling out to me, but I refused to hear him out.

I could no longer hear the steady taps against the cloth, but I could hear it against my ears, feel it against my skin. Amidst the cold, a warm embrace enveloped me, a slow constant murmur in my ear. "Shh… shh…" An already wet cloth mingled with my tears. "Shh…" His warmth was drifting, his voice becoming more distant, and soon it became one with the wind.

I could no longer bear the cold, could no longer ignore it as it seeped through my skin, right down to the bone. "You should go home." I could not bring myself to say anything. I could only mutter up the chattering of my teeth, the shivering of my body. In reply, I wrapped my arms around me. He copied me unconsciously.

"Where do you live?" He pulled the trigger. I stood up, shakily, grasping the air for support. I began to walk, letting my feet do the carrying, letting this hunger for warmth encourage me, letting this thirst for home lead me.

I did not know if he followed, at the present, it was not in my list of concerns. I continued walking in the same half decent strut for a walk, which simply took too long.

In that moment, where I felt neither time nor space, when everything basically stopped, I arrived at my doorstep. I did not realize the gate had been open. I stood there, stared at the wood, clueless as to what to do.

He was beside me all the time. "Do you have the keys?" His words were stumbling one after the other, the effect of its cause. My hand instinctively unzipped my bag, reaching inside for the sound of clinking keys. As soon as I could feel the cold metal on my fingertips, I grabbed it. I could not seem to find the keyhole. His unsteady hand locked upon my unstable one, and together, for a second, steadily stabled it.

I entered the house, not bothering to take off my shoes for once, heading straight to the couch. I sat there, water dripping off of my hair, fingers convulsing, my skin desperately searching for any leftover traces of warmth. I lied on my side, minimizing as best as I could the space I occupied, gathering myself together in that tight constricted space, just so I could save heat. Layers upon layers of blankets were wrapped around me, a few shivers escaped in return. I could hear the kettle whistling, could hear the door open, and close, and then, nothing but silence.

I sneezed. I sniffled after that. How rude of me. I haven't even said anything to him. Not even that two worded thank you. Or even that one worded thanks. Not even that small simple yet immensely profound word.

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that's it for chapter one… hmm… who is the guy? He's not Sendoh or anybody else from Ryonan… I did want to put Koshino in… but he looks like mitsui when he was in junior high, so too bad.. hehe… and sendoh is just too popular, I mean, his character's easier to write with, it's because of that smile… hehehe… I wanted more space for a canvas… the title is also an idiomatic expression… in case you're interested… 


	2. Forgotten

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehe… thank you as always… I would've released the first chapter sooner had I not been sick. hehehe… and well, it was kinda hard on choosing the pairing… but… maybe Mitsui's all that cuter from Koshino because Koshino always seems to have a problem… hehehe… it's like palagi syang nakasimangot almost… hehe… and sendoh, we all agree about him… hehe.. hmm… I mentioned it not from Ryonan… heheh… so that eliminated the whole basketball team.. hehe.. but I think when you used Uekusa and Ikegami, I think you're almost in the right track of what kind of character I wanted to get… it's not just them… hehehe, keep trying though! I'll eliminate another one here… hehe 

**Simmic**: yup! That's right… hehe.. and no, this person doesn't look like Mitsui… that's why I didn't choose Koshino… hehe.. and well, if you're thinking it might be kogure, based on your description, it's not kogure too.. hehehe… keep guessing though, the character I chose is very much like Kogure in my opinion… hehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

_Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.  
-Elie Weisel-_

I am hiding – hiding from something I do not even know. I am running, running away from something even I do not know. Yet I keep on running, for a reason not present. Yet he keeps on chasing, for a reason only he himself knows. I do now know which way to go.

I made the mistake of looking back; I saw how close he was to closing in on me, my heart racing for its final leg of the race. I could feel fatigue slowing me down, dragging me to stop. He closed the gap in between us.

He's gone? There is another hand holding my wrist. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." I turned around, only to find, finite darkness. I slowly lowered my head down, leaned it back on my pillow. I am back in my room – back in my own bed. I had slept, dreamt.

I am enveloped in darkness. I cannot sleep, afraid that the dream will come back; return to haunt me for the second time. And so I listened – to the only music available at that time – silence. I listened to the sound of drums – the ticking of the clock. I listened to the bass – the sound when I shut my ears.

I was slipping back to a world whose existence instantly vanished at the ring of the phone. I snaked myself to the cliff of my bed, my hand inching out from under the covers and snaked itself around the phone. "Hello?" No reply. "Hello?" for the second time. Again, for the second time, there was no reply.

I was sick. It was obvious I was not feeling well. I was not in my best mood. It was obvious I would not be in my best behavior. "Are you deaf or something?" I slammed the phone down, sandwiching it with its receiver. I am here, lying down, sick, and irritated. Wait a second; I'm sick, pissed off and cold! What a perfect combination.

I jumped out of bed, heaved my feet along the carpet, as if carrying it was a load. I was like a child in a candy store who didn't get any candy, and thus was grumbling. My feet dragged along the blanket, and it was the first time I had noticed the other blanket, there, wrapped around my ankle. At the present distraction it offered, my head cooled down a bit, the breeze contributing to it.

As the breeze switched its direction, I seized the opportunity to attach a message along with it. "Thank you." I told the wind. I hope it carried those two words wherever it truly should be.

I closed the window after that, walked sluggishly to my bed, crawled underneath the covers, when the phone rang, again. It rang a second time. On the third, I gambled, and picked it up. "Hello?"

"I-" Miraculously, a voice came out from the other line. "I just wanted to let you know," That? "I'm not deaf." I took me half a second to realize it was he. Despite my feverish temperature, my cheeks still retained their ability to blush. What followed after that was the unchanging sound that came from the dial tone.

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Ok… following for the guesses… it is not Fujima or anybody else from Shoyo… Fujima way too perfect.. hehehe… good looks, basketball skills, coach, manager, and like one of the best point guards in the prefecture… hello? Hehehe… anyways… please do continue to guess… hehe… 


	3. Sightless

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: we are definitely on the same page with Fujima… hehehe.. I explained, I mean it's like the question is not what can he do, but what he can't do… hehehe… Hanagata… too a bit… I mean his features, a bit cold I would say, now that I've looked at his picture again, if you take off his glasses, he kinda looks like an older rukawa… hehe… and Maki and her don't really seem compatible in one way or the other… and Maki looks a bit old (I mean compare him to others who are in the same grade as his) and he always seems to have a problem… Kiyota? Bwahahahaha… Kiyota would be fun to use at the character, but I'm thinking it's easier for him to complain… you'll get what I mean later… Jin? Who Jin? Hehehe… 

**Coffeemaverick**: well, at first, it was supposed to be Sendoh, but then I thought… wow, first Mitsui then Sendoh? I mean, she is one lucky girl… but I didn't want her to be lucky, so I'm like, scrap Sendoh… hehehe… Miyagi? Glad you mentioned him! Hehehe.. it's not him… that would be weird, it's like they exchanged partners… hehehe… though someone is coming back to heal miyagi… sort of… hehehe… Rukawa… hehehe… I did have a deleted scene of him and Karin for Do You See Me? Remember the chain thing? Hehe… I was supposed to chain them together, and it was supposed to be awkward and everything… but didn't want her to be too lucky and getting all the opportunities to be with all the famous players of Shohoku… that's why I limited it only to Mitsui, Miyagi and Ayako… it's rare for them to meet with Kogure or Rukawa… hehe… cause a lot of people in their school don't even get the chance to talk to this people, except maybe Ayako, Haruko not so much… but yeah… hehe..

**Simmic**: atama ga ii… hehehe… the guy doesn't look like Mitsui when he was younger, why would I want to pair Karin up with someone who looks like Mitsui when he was younger? It'd make her look like he's just using him in one way… or that she likes him just cause he looks like Mitsui… but anyways, I guess there's no use hiding it… it is Jin.. hehe… don't know if you're in favor or not… but I do hope you will bear with me…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

I shouldn't have worked yesterday. Then I wouldn't have to stay up late. Then I wouldn't have to sleep late. Then I wouldn't have to wake up late, and be late.

There's the bus! I could see it coming. Closing in on its destination. My walk turned into a full-fledged run, hoping to catch it. I did, and handed my fare, and was soon squished into the packaged product of a canned sardine. I was 20 awake, 80 sleepy.

I wonder where we are. Why do I have to be squished in the middle? Why is it taking too long? I was 25 awake, 75 sleepy.

As the bus abruptly stopped, I seized the chance to take a quick peek outside. But my eyes weren't quick enough, and all I saw before I was pushed further back was a light post. How very helpful. I was fifty-fifty.

I squeezed my arm skywards, sneaking a glance at my watch. 6:50 am. Is this bus driver still getting used to the idea of driving a bus or what? 75 awake, 25 sleepy.

At last, the bus drove to a halt. Slowly but surely, the crowd started to dissipate. As soon as my shoes settled on solid ground, I stretched my arms, trying to loosen the tightened muscles, stopping abruptly when I saw that to my right, an unfamiliar building stood - an unfamiliar building where Shohoku used to stand. I was 100 awake. I didn't know which school I had gone to, and so I walked right in with the students, taking in the surrounding atmosphere.

As I scanned to my right, I saw an oddly familiar tall person making his way into the crowd. A light bulb ignited in my head. It's Maki. Before I could deliberate with myself, to ask or not ask for help, he was long gone, engulfed inside the huge building.

I started to walk aimlessly again, and getting nowhere, I bowed my head low, about faced, and proceeded to retrace my steps back to the bus stop. Whoosh! Another student flew past by me, running, followed by a vaguely familiar person riding his bike.

Hold on for a second there, rewind and pause. Zoom in. I know those guys. "Hey! Make way! Make way for the genius!" The crowd did give him what he wanted, space, but that was only because he was starting to freak them out with his outrageously arrogant or should I say, confident nature. It's Kainan's Monkey, Nobunaga.

I turned my attention to the guy who rode his bike calmly beside Kiyota. I've seen him before. Where? I slammed my fist onto my open palm. That's right! Shohoku's match with Kainan. Jin. No good, he's a mortal enemy.

I decided to approach Nobunaga then - with caution, and lots of it. His hyper-activism might burst and he just might lose it. I don't want to be in his line of fire.

When I got close enough, I tapped him once on the shoulder. "Here you go!" He instantly grabbed my free hand, took out a pen, and signed his name on it. It all happened so fast I had to stop and think for a second.

Yep. His signature was evidently present in the back of my hand. I tried to rub it off with my unsigned one though it seems he was fully prepared. He had signed it in permanent ink. There was nothing more that could be done, as the only result it gave off was irritation.

"Can I help you? You don't look like you're from this school." Yes. I bet you could tell, Jin. Of course I'm not! I'm wearing a different uniform. Doesn't that explain just about everything? I pulled my sleeve to cover the autograph. I shouldn't be ranting out my anger at Jin, even if it was only in mind.

"Yes." I turned to face him, still wary of that signature. "I rode the wrong bus. Oh, and I don't know how to go back." Jin responded by giving me a puzzled look that made his face look like a puzzle. I know, I know. How could I possibly ride the wrong bus? Well, first, I'm human. That's always popular. And second, I was barely awake when I caught the bus. I even recall that morning that I lathered shampoo on my skin instead of soap, and almost brushed my teeth with my facial cleanser. Of course I need not get so detailed about it.

Jin carefully explained to me the directions and all throughout I kept on nodding my head. "Do you understand?" I quickly scanned over the information. "Yup." He let out a small smile, bowed and we went our separate ways.

It took only five steps to realize – Where do I go again? Every single letter, word and sentence went down the drain. I quickly turned around, caught up with him before he could pedal beside Kiyota. "Hey!" He pressed on the brakes and dismounted. "Um. I seemed to have… uh… forgotten… everything you said."

He let out a small laugh while I let out a nervous one before he composed himself. He started to push his bike ahead of me. "Here. I'm walking you there." I quickly jogged after him then slowed down into a walk as soon as I matched his pace.

Then he suddenly mounted his bike, and took off, in the direction of the bus stop. I saw the bus appear from out the trees and I started to run, though I was sure I wouldn't be able to catch it. He did however, and asked the bus driver to wait for me. I arrived there, out of breath and before I could climb up he held my arm and reminded me of where I was to go. "Ride this bus until it reaches the train station. Don't worry, there's only one." I nodded my head, still panting over the sudden rush of adrenaline, and as soon as he released his hold on me, I wasted no time in ascending the steps up and on the bus. It's door closed, and as I took my seat, I felt troubled.

That's right. I forgot to thank him. I moved to turn and look back, but he was long gone, pedaling back inside. I really did wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

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Ok… finally, it's not going to be anyone from Shohoku… hehehe… but I did choose Yohei once… a lot of times actually, because it was nice to be able to use a character who doesn't play basketball for once… that'd be a real change… but then… I thought… it's a bit too easy for Yohei to express everything… I mean his character's attitude has a huge boundary… it's not very constricted to like a signature one as in Kogure or Rukawa… so I wanted to be able to work around a character that had certain limitations to where I could possibly think they would fit in… so that leaves only one school… and I think you've figured it out already… who is he… based on the reviews… hehehe.. It's paralleled with Do You See Me since I also revealed Mitsui on the third episode… hehehe.. 


	4. Distinguish

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hahaha… yeah, that' s one reason why I paired the two up… I figured there's already a lot of mitsui, sendoh, and rukawa, fujima not so much, but compared to jin and to other players, those 3 really kind of have the majority around them… and so I'm trying to use Jin as someone that could potentially have the same appeal with the audience… hopefully… hehehe… 

**Coffeemaverick**: well… I just thought Nobunaga would do that if he had the chance… hehehe.. thank you….

**Simmic**: oh… yeah… it kinda seems not too direct… hehehe… I'm glad that you think it was a nice choice! Hehehe.. yeah… they are sort of rivals… hehehe.. yeah… but I mean… if Yohei was in the same grade… whoa… he's attitude would just be the perfect one to use… hehehe.. yeah, I figured Kiyota and Sakuragi have their similarities.. hehehe.. yeah, basically… because like I tried to portray.. it seems she wasn't in her right state of consciousness at that time…but she'll recognize later… oh and for the reason Jin was in the neighborhood… um… it's in chapter 4… hehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Ne, Karin, where were you yesterday?" Miyagi sat beside me as I was doing make-up work for my absence. "Skipping? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." He bowed his head, shaking it three times. "I was lost." I realized I had scribbled Jin's name. I quickly erased it before Miyagi had time to sneak a peek. "Sure. Whatever." Before I could dive headfirst into the heated discussion that was just begging for me to join, he tapped me on the shoulder, and with a later, left me squirming in my seat, my hands struggling to choke the air out of him until he turns purple that is.

Suddenly this girl started to chase this guy, though it seemed as if everything had been a joke. The look on her face however, was no joke. There was a huge stain on her shirt and she ran with what looked like a pie in her hands. The guy tried his best to evade her, though it seemed as if he did more destruction than escaping. This caused a crowd to band together against him, preventing him from going any further. The girl gladly wiped his face with the pie, though he still held a thumbs-up in approval.

They'd make a nice couple. As if to answer my question, "Those two are at it again?" I looked around to see that the Sakuragi-guntai occupied every single available seat on the table I had hoped to find peace. As if to voice out my question, "They should just hook up." Sakuragi commented. Right, now get out of my mind. "Those two? No way. I know those two. They're just friends." Takamiya explained.

I placed my pen down, resting my chin on my newly self-made divan of palms. From an outsider's point of view, it might seem as lover's quarrel, but from their shoes' point of view, it's just, normal, ordinary, a daily serving of get on your nerves for a complete day.

I smiled. Maybe that's exactly what happened to me. I became the outsider. I viewed our friendship from a different plane and angle. I never used to think that our casual piggyback ride when I'm tired or just plain lazy meant anything. I would readily take him on a battle of teasing, or staring contest. I never gave them any other meaning until I had changed. Since the way I looked at him changed.

Little by little, I began to associate certain feelings with what we normally used to do. I began to build my own Mt. Everest of false hope. It was then that I placed an invisible space that grew in between us. It was then that I would uncontrollably blush under his gaze. It was until then that words could no longer come out on upon his questions, comments, and violent reactions. Until then, everything had been all right.

We each spoke of a different language. I spoke of love, while he spoke of friendship. Somewhere, I misunderstood what he said.

"Sempai, are you listening?" Who? What? Oh. I nodded my head to reassure them that my consciousness was back where it belonged. "As I was asking," Sakuragi continued. "Senpai, could you please help me in passing my Bio class?" And how do you propose I should do that? "Of course you meant through tutoring, right?" Sakuragi scratched the back of his head. "Actually I meant that," At Yohei's jab to the side, "Sure. Sure. Later! I see Haruko." The rest of the gang where back to gambling again. After some debate, they decided to spend the rest of the day in the nearest panchinko club.

Two shadows loomed over me. "Hi Karin." Hi Ayako. Hi Mitsui. I greeted them with the best smile I could bring about myself. "So, are you feeling any better?" Huh? "It's just that, we heard that you were sick this weekend, so…" I smiled yet again, nodding my head. "Yeah. I'm fine. The flu checked itself out on the evening of Sunday." Ayako let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to hear." Mitsui replied. "I guess… we better get going then." I bowed my head and the returned the bow before leaving.

A little farther away, Mitsui placed his hand around her waist, seeming to comfort her of her latest ordeal, and as she rested her head on his shoulder, he gave her a soothing kiss on the side of her head.

So, are you feeling any better? I couldn't answer right away back then. I was confused. Which one was she talking about?

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Okay… seems to be like a new discovery… and trying to really put some answers into the why's from last time. And I think from the viewing it from a different perspective really helped on that one… there's obviously still some distance between the four friends that I'm still on the process of mending… and next chapter coming up is the reason as to why Jin was lurking around in the neighborhood… hehe… 


	5. Unexpected

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: thank you for taking the time to review… hehe... and I guess it's time for Karin for some self-realization and I think that what happened is also a contributing factor to understanding more of where she stands with Mitsui… and basically, just uncovering… layer by layer… hehe… oh, miyagi… he's certainly not lost… I mean in the chapter following this, we will see a bit of Miyagi reaction… hehe.. just continue to wonder… hehehe.. 

**Coffeemaverick**: hello… well first of all, that wasn't Karin who was chasing… it was just some random people… or else it'd be kinda weird if Takamiya knew and stuff… and besides she didn't refer to the girl as her or she didn't use "I" so yeah… well, it is Jin… hehe… I'm glad that you're interested of how I'll weave this pairing… and well… I need to put scenes like that, I know, it's sad… but in order for her to overcome and move on, she just can't keep on running away and avoid them like the plague… there's Jin anyways, so little by little, she'll learn to finally not feel sorrow or remorse or just a plain sad feeling whenever they're around…

**Simmic**: well… I guess I meant more of hanging around, lurk does have a negative connotation… but I assure you, he's not stalking anyone… heheh.. actually, there's another reason… right in this chapter… hehe…

**Zytka**: hello.. well, didn't that kinda ruin the ending for you? Hehe… well I think you should read Do You See Me? First because it'll help you not to be so lost… because The Writing On The Wall has a number of allusions to Do You See Me? And so maybe it'll be a good idea if you read only one for the time-being… hehehe… but thank you for your compliments… I absolutely don't want her to be a Mary Sue… hehe.. Just take your time.. hehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

I was in a semi-sitting position on the couch, pigging-out for the weekend, channel surfing because of sheer boredom and unparalleled laziness to do homework. As I was flipping absent-mindedly past the channels, I suddenly caught a video of some archers in practice. I placed the remote down on my lap and continued to watch.

The excitement that rushed through my veins died quickly as the reporter came to block my view. "The Yamada Kyudojo is open all throughout this week for visitors who would like to experience the culture, and the historical importance archery has served Japan for the years. This Saturday, from 1-4 pm, a 50 percent discount will be made available to customers who wish to use the equipments as well as the facilities available for a day. Just to try out and get a feel of the atmosphere, and to learn about the history of archery. All are welcome to come."

The address was displayed on the screen. Without second thought, I grabbed the nearest pen and scribbled on tissue paper the address. As the subject matter changed into the weather, I resumed to flipping through the channels finally finding a new TV series that was just starting.

I'm coming. It's so long! There's still one more day! I looked at the watch. It is taking too long.

I arrived early though still past the time it's gates opened, and found that though there were a lot of people, there weren't that much. It wasn't packed like the shopping areas when customers would go into a shopping frenzy whenever they had a sale. There were a few of the elite, who upon the release, the arrow hit exactly at the bull's-eye of its target. The others were okay, missing the bull's-eye, but still managing to get inside its circle. There were some, however, who did not even get the arrow to stick into the target, and there were still others who could not even properly release the arrow.

I approached the counter where I could borrow some bows and arrows, and the clerk helped me with picking an arrow and measuring it against my arm. She also gave me a bow, a glove, and even escorted me to an area where I could change into the proper attire.

After emerging from the changing area, I took an empty spot and stood there, wondering, how do I operate this thing? I mean, I've seen how it's done in TV but how do I do it for real? I found that the students, or members of this Kyudojo were busy teaching the rest of the population of the techniques and basics. I didn't want to remain standing there, posing like a statue, so I took my bow and arrow, looked around and found an instructor that I could copy.

I stood, sideways, spreading my feet apart. I positioned the bow to line with my left knee, while it's upper curve lined with the midline of my body. I flexed my right hand that was covered by a glove then I reached for the string.

"Do you need help?" Thank the gods there's someone to help me now. I think I looked like an uncomfortable idiot. "Yes. How do I properly hold the bow and arrow?" I faced you and saw, "Jin."

It was at first a bit strange to see Jin in the full Kyubudo attire than what I was used to seeing him in - Kainan's uniform. He let out a warm laugh. "Yeah. Who else?" If I had glasses I would have lowered them in that old-fashioned way as if to criticize him. "Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here?" I opened my mouth to respond, to comment, to defend, to attack, but I came into the battle carrying no guns. "Nothing," That was it? "I just - didn't expect you to be here." Realizing that I had nothing else to throw at him, I proceeded with copying the instructor again.

I held the string as best as I could, and raised the bow above my head. I pulled on the string, my left hand bringing the bow back to level somewhat with my shoulders. "Do you know how?" I was trying to listen, you were trying to talk, and I didn't know which one to listen to anymore so let's deal with you first.

I brought my bow and arrow down, and held them out for you to accept. You did, a bit unsure as of what to do with it. I held you by the shoulders and directed you to stand sideways, and as you parted your feet you angled them a bit. I stood parallel to you and held your left hand to raise the arrow above your head. I moved in closer so I could move your right arm to hold the string. When you did, I held your right hand, motioning for you to pull at the string, you followed, and then I diverted my attention to the target. I moved my face closer to get a clearer view. "I think this is okay."

"You think so?" I knew your voice was faint, but it seemed to be quite louder to me than that. It was then that I became fully aware of just how close we were, that the distance between us was not visible if seen from afar. "Just release it." I then used that as a means to slowly move away.

I did not watch you, and kept my eyes only on the target. Concentrate. When you did not release as I had told you, I turned and your grip on the string changed, and as you pulled on it, you pulled the string past your ear, almost to your right shoulder, and your eyes were half-closed, unblinking, staring directly at the target.

Then you released. I heard the arrow hit. I returned my gaze to the target, where, the arrow was a bit off. I was both shocked and embarrassed. On the other hand, that shot wasn't so bad. "It turns out you didn't need my help anyways." It was a futile attempt to prevent the embarrassment from digging in any deeper. He didn't ask for my help when he said do you know how, he was just asking.

"Hey… are you alright? Hello? Hey, you-" I jerked back to reality, responding to his actions. "You don't have to repeat it. I-"

He finished it for me, "I know, you're not deaf." I was supposed to just say I can hear you, but that seemed very familiar.

Instead of a light flashing inside my head, my cheeks blushed in confirmation to my direst suspicions. He was the one who called? How did he even – there was the rain, there was a handkerchief that stroke my cheeks, there were the blankets that covered me. He was the one who helped me. Double embarrassment.

"I would've told you –" I didn't hear the rest. He didn't say anything. He stopped as I picked up my bow and arrow and walked past him, and as I crossed him, a small but clear "Thank you" graced my lips. "Your welcome." He didn't even ask what for. He just knew why.

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Hehe… that's the end of chapter four… a bit of happy times, cause well, the story's been moving almost more on the sad side, so yeah… hehe… anyways, thanks for the reviews, even when had a technical difficulty… really appreciate it… next chapter… what will happen when "the four" are brought together? Hehehe… nothing too serious.. hehe... and just for the record... it doesn't seem to put the percent sign... can somebody tell me how? thanks...  



	6. Crossroads

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: yeah… kyujutsu… Jin is not an expert on it, he's just taken on a new interest… and besides I think it would fit in fine-tuning his accuracy skills… heheh… well, I did have to research for the archery, though I can't seem to get a grip so much on how to hold the string correctly… and for the others, I didn't go into much detail because that would go against a person who's sort of experiencing this for the first time… so the explanation of the movements were minimal… thank you…

**Simmic**: hehehe… sorry 'bout that… well according to the reporter, the yamada kyudojo was open all throughout the week, and so I was supposed to put that the location of the dojo was near their house, however, it turns out that I missed on doing that… hehehe… I was in a bit of a rush… hehe.. anyways… if it was near to their house and Jin has in fact kind of proven that he has a bit of knowledge with archery, then when he was in the neighbourhood, that was because he was just passing by to go to the kyudojo… hehehe… yup… Karin can't just keep on mopping around… life goes on! Hehehe.. but of course the healing process isn't so easy… anyways, aww… I'm glad you think that Jin is much more suitable for Karin… Jin does seem to appreciate her more… something like that.. hehe.. oh and the review, no problem… a good work deserves a nice review… hehehe… well, what I usually do is sit at the computer, write my replies to the reviewers first, hehehe, and then stare just blankly, without any music or any other disturbances, and just picture the story as if I was watching a tv show… hehehe… and from there, picture clips of what I'm most excited to write about, and from the exciting parts is where the rest of the story branches off… right now I'm thinking about the "four" scene… hehehe… well, that's just for me… heehehe… but I mean sometimes, really good pieces of work need some time to be developed, and to be polished, and refined… so I think it's good that you think things thoroughly, I however just think for the moment… hehehe…

**ZYtKa**: hello… thanks for finishing reading Do You See Me? Yeah, it is kind of sad for Karin… but it's a new beginning, and stuff… hehe… well, Miyagi actually shows his first reaction (he did before), but there's another one in this chapter… hope you enjoy it as always… hehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Takahashi-san." I stood up from my seat, walked down the aisle, awaiting my verdict. Mr. Homura handed me back my test results.

I thanked him, not sparing that thin sheet of paper that I held in my hands a glance. When I finally settled down into my dreaded seat, I flipped over the paper in my seeing, seeking my judgement.

77 percent. I sighed, massaging my temples. The work was starting to take its toll on me. I didn't bother to check over my answers, nor look over my mistakes. I dejectedly inserted it into the folds of my notebook.

The last bell rang. Another day at school had come to an end. Another day at work was waiting to begin.

I took the train as usual, my regular mode of transportation alongside plain old walking, and a not so modern taking the bus. I started to drift off into – there's my stop. I waited for the signal to turn green before pressing the button. The sliding doors opened.

"Hey. Why don't we go to that new restaurant right at –" A hand flew for a wave, then it joined with its pair and crossed in an X. "Sorry, no time for picture-taking. Running here on tight schedule." Kiyota got into the train. I'm glad he did.

Jin bowed his head in acknowledgement. I blinked, my head almost turning sideways as if asking for an indication that it was indeed me he was bowing too. I hastily curved my neck for a bow. He smiled before Kiyota's nagging got the better of him and entered the train.

I calmly situated myself at a distance - away from all the people rushing. I somehow feel refreshed. Lifted. Though the next and the one following after that weren't for me, I did not feel the need to rush. I simply wanted to remain standing. Be a spectator as life presented its product on the lives of people. Most, I haven't even met.

Unfortunately for me, the train I needed to ride arrived, waiting to carry and bring me to my much-loved job.

As soon as I entered, what welcomed me was not only the overwhelming amount of passengers during rush hour, but also of Ayako and Mitsui, hands held, though they broke off after catching sight of me.

I did not wish for them to act so uncomfortable in my presence. Sure it was a tad bit uncomfortable for all of us, but acting like that, only made it seem as if I had caused all of this, which I probably had a part in, that I had become an obstacle that stood in their path, though I did not want to be so. The doors closed.

What followed was a chain reaction of events. A woman carrying her groceries ignited the reaction that caused me to fall forward and bump into Ayako, which in turn, caused Ayako to land into the open arms of Mitsui. This must certainly be the work of the gods.

The crowd moved me further along at the next stop, bringing in both unfamiliar and familiar faces, one of which I recognized as Miyagi. He paused at the entrance, and upon the complaints of the many hurrying passengers, proceeded to go inside.

He almost made it past the two; however, he never did make it past them. He "unintentionally" bumped into Mitsui's side, Mitsui responding by turning his head to look outside. Miyagi continued to stand still, eyes looking straight ahead, though for a moment he looked at Mitsui, and when Mitsui didn't face him, he walked away without saying anything.

The ride became silent for some reason after that. It was my turn to leave at the next stop.

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Hello… got to finish this… I'll say a bit early… because I had no homeowork! Hehehehe… anyways, yeah, there's still a bit of tension between Miyagi and Mitsui, at least his anger is gradually subsiding compared to when he punched him in Do You See Me? Mitsui standing by his promise to Anzai-sensei… and refused to pick a fight with him… anyways, what can I say for the next chapter… oh… only one thing… there's someone coming back from Do You See Me? And is paying a visit… to whom? To the one who needs it the most… hehehehe… I hope you enjoyed reading The Writing On The Wall… 


	7. Change

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehehe… I know, it is awkward… and well, it is good… gradually healing process starting to take affect… a bit… hehehehe… aww… don't you think Kiyota is necessary for some hint of humor? Hehehe… 

**Coffeemaverick**: yeah, I mean, Miyagi has got a crush for Ayako for who knows how long… hehehe… thank you!

**Simmic**: yeah, it was pretty awkward, but at least it went from too painful to awkward… there's progress! Hehehe…

**zYtKa**: hehehe… well, I do think that it's not only Miyagi and Karin that's hurt, Ayako and Mitsui do feel it too, and it affects the four of them the most, because they've been like friends, and it's been cracked in a way or broken in a way, but yeah… hehehe.. who was your guess anyways? Heheh..

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**The Writing On The Wall  
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**_"After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."_  
-Aldous Huxley-**

" Who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968?" Wait, seriously, I know the answer to this question. There's something at the tip of my tongue but I just can't seem to get a hold of it. Ok, the teacher just mentioned it last class. She was talking about Kenzaburo Oe and something… wait, I think I might be getting something.

"Senpai!" Sakuragi let go of the strap of his bag and it landed beside me with a thud. I lost whatever hold I had of it. I could almost break my pencil in two by my enormous frustration in my brain. I started to flip the pages of my history book, with not really a clue as to where it lay in hiding within the cluster of innumerable letters.

"Senpai, I just wanted to thank you for helping me. I passed!" From the corner of my eye, I could see the rest of the gang running to catch up. Sakuragi waved his test paper triumphantly in the air, like a patriot waving his flag. "53 percent, can you believe that?" Well, if it's good enough for him, I can't do anything about it.

"So, to repay you…" Sakuragi? Repay? "you've been officially inducted into the Sakuragi-guntai!" The gang took out the confetti from their pockets and started to shower it on, and around me. "Congratulations!" I didn't know whether I should consider this as a blessing, or as a curse.

"I just love a vicious bloody catfight." What the – me? Fight? Oh no. No. No. And No. "No." I began to inch off my seat, raising both of my hands in the air, palms up. "We're just joking senpai, geez. Chill." They patted me on the back, forcing me to sit right back down.

"Now, as a treat, we're going to lunch someplace else! I know a good restaurant that has really good udon." I smell something fishy. "Are you sure Sakuragi? I mean… I'm really not hungry. Really." Sakuragi took hold of both of my arms and lifted me off of my seat, setting me to stand on the ground on my own two feet. "Let's go senpai." I felt for my pocket, not too good.

As the Kake Udon, Ebi-ten Udon, Nabeyaki Udon, Yamakake Udon, Karei Udon, and Tsukimi Udon were laid on the table, I could not suppress the growling of my stomach and the urge of my teeth to chew. I could not help but indulge myself. I have been working hard; it's time to for a well earned a break.

At the end, we might've consumed more than our pockets can provide for. "Thanks senpai." Sakuragi said, fully satisfied with his meal. Thank you? I'm supposed to pay for this? I saw it coming. Yet I didn't avoid it. So whose fault is it?

I laid out the plan of attack. I faced my palm down and beckoned to him. He came and adjusted himself to my height. "What is it sempai?" I took a deep breath, something I copied off my Aunt whenever she was about to drop the bomb. "You know Sakuragi, I'd gladly pay for the bill, but-" I began to reveal the plan. "I'm not sure if I can guarantee you the confidentiality of this event. You may never know who's standing right around the corner." Sakuragi looked over his shoulder. "That old man?" He replied as if to answer my question. I didn't mean that. "Anyways, Haruko," At the mention of her name, his ears perked up, his attention span breaking the records. "Has recently been clarifying her feelings for Rukawa." At the mention of his name, tension started to build up. Complete swooning whenever he makes his appearance, Heart shaped eyes whenever Rukawa accomplishes a dunk. Exagerration was the key to victory.

"I'm just saying, you can't let this go on!" Sakuragi began to crack his knuckles. "I mean, Rukawa is way up here with the ladies, and well, unbelievably hot looks and unbelievably cold attitude makes for a deadly combination." He was all fired up now. "It doesn't mean you don't have a chance, you absolutely do, but, you have to step up your game!" Sakuragi started to think, and maybe even reflect on what I just said. He rubbed his chin for added effect. "You have always got to watch your back." Again, he craned his neck for a look at his back. "You never know who's watching you. And letting a girl," with a huge emphasis on the girl coupled with the deadly pause was reverberating on the air; "pay for the tabs, isn't going to impress Haruko." Finally, Sakuragi gasped as if his eyes were opened to the truth. The bomb has detonated.

Sakuragi dug deep in his pockets and as his fingers met daylight, they brought with them 80 yen. We both looked at each other. This is bad. Sakuragi forced the guntai to empty their pockets, and were able to come up with 289 yen. Our bill was 65o yen. I took out my wallet despite Sakuragi being against the idea and paid for the rest. "We owe you senpai." There was no comfort to my lost pocket money.

I basically skipped classes out of my will. I still made it for the afternoon classes. As the anticipation for that wonderfully redeeming ring of the last bell began, an announcement delayed it. "Attention students. Today, after school, you are all invited to come to the theatre and watch a musical competition for the violin. Our own Karashi Rei will be competing against students from Miuradai, Takezono, and Tsukubu. All are encouraged to come and show support for Karashi-san. Thank you."

One word to describe the theatre: overflowing. It was packed not only with students coming from Shohoku but students from the other competing schools came to support their respective contenders.

The lights went out and everybody settled into their seats. The performance was about to start. The theatre became an empty canvas. It became space, where the violinist could take you to any place.

The theme for the competition was on the Concerto's of John Sebastian Bach. The first contestant was from Tsukubu. Concerto in D major. It seemed to run one after the other, with no definite winner, across the green grass in the meadows while the kids chased after a flying kite, it's flight ascending and descending in rapid might.

The second competitor belonged to Miuradai. Concerto in A minor. It was a masquerade party, where masks and enormous, elaborate, and elegant gowned adorned the exuberant room. There was music and dancing until and it showed no signs of slowing down until the night wore out.

The third competitor was from home, Shohoku. Concerto in E major. I was in Venice, under the Rialto Bridge, where under it the sun glows, and though gliding through the water was slow, the music in the air catches many a tune.

The last but certainly not the least was Takezono. I was a chase. A flight of two birds from tree to tree. It was like raindrops first coming down from the sky. It was how the wind would turn the leaves, of how it would sway the ones left in the trees. A cat and mouse chase. It becomes a journey.

The crowd was divided. Not only because they belonged to different schools, but also because all of them were good. Yet upon the emerging of technicality and everything in between, the fourth competitor, Hagino Naru of Takezono won.

She came out from the shadows, and after the awarding, was granted to play again. However, in quite an unsure voice, she said, "I'm supposed to replay my competition piece, but tonight, I decided that I will play a piece that I originally composed when I was young." On the first note, it instantly opened my mind. It tugged at the strings of my heart. It played with the doors of my memory. It made me feel as if I had turned back in time, that I had returned to the past. Maybe I did. Or maybe, the past caught up with me.

It notes easily penetrated my skin, giving it a familiar tingle. There was a voice that sung its lyrics, though there was none. I stood in front of a door I did not dare touch. I saw the grass dance. It was unmistakable. It was she, and her name, Hagino Naru.

I looked for Mitsui after that. It took quite some time before I finally caught up with them, as they were about to exit. "Mitsui." When he turned, he knew what exactly I had come to ask. "You remembered her too?" He switched his attention to the violinists on stage, being congratulated and entertained. "Yeah. Hagino-san." At the confirmation of another of my suspicions, I rushed back inside; wanting to congratulate her, though it seemed another had been quicker.

Hagino-san stood amongst the crowd, and after a few words from Miyagi, she took out her violin, and played him a song. The song brought a smile to his lips. Or maybe, he brought that upon himself.

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Did anybody get her right? Hehehe… um yeah… pardon me if it's not that accurate and everything, but, yeah, the concerto's you may have a different approach about them, so those images are just opinions, many of the ones I can think about, and I had to listen to just clips too… hehehe… anyways… there's not much healing, ah I seem to be revealing things earlier than after… anyways, jin's not in the scene… primarily because, jin's in kainan, she's in shohoku, it's not very common for them to just cross paths everyday, or talk to each other everyday. And will jin be there for the next chapter? Let me see… yeah… So yeah… hope you enjoyed it… hehehe.. 


	8. Layers

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: that's right! Hehehe.. well I mean, she's not only talking to Miyagi, there's some others too… hehehe… but still the same… heheh… I like the guntai… hehehe… well it's like they're the fun whenever Kiyota's not around… hehehe… thank you for the compliments!

**Sheryl**: thanks for the review! yeah, that's why I paired them up (MitxAya). Well, Mitsui and Miyagi will eventually, calm down… hehehe… but now, there's still some tensions, as to what happened in the train…

**Simmic**: thank you… yeah… well she's the violinist one, but she's not the one Mitsui cried over… hehehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Karin! Come here!" What now? I'm sweeping the floor aren't I? I'm just keeping my eyes on the TV instead of the floor, that's all. It's called doing two things at the same time for your information. "Karin!" I started to walk backwards, eyes still glued to the screen. When I hit my lower back on the dining table, it made me run for my aunt seeing it had switched to the commercials. I wasn't about to miss anything yet.

"What's this?" My aunt held up a shirt and a pair of pants in mid-air, in line with my face. "Do you see that?" Yeah. They're both soiled to death. How could I miss something like that? "What were you doing that you got your clothes into this shape? It was as if you had swum on a sea of dirt." The rain fell in a torrent; it's sound pushing all others from my ears. It's coldness locking out the warmth in me. "I-" My aunt gave me a stern look. She wasn't in the mood to buy anything. "You better tell me the truth Karin." I was cornered, and the only way out was through her. "I – was in, the rain." The first was out. "Let's sit down and talk." There was no going back.

After a lengthy and detailed explanation, silence had enveloped the room for a few seconds. "So, did you thank him?" I could only nod my head at her question. "So, what did you give him in return?" A simple thank you. Isn't that counted? "None." At her raised eyebrows I added, "as of the moment." She rested her forehead on her palm in disappointment.

"Go." It was not a request, more of an order. "Go and do something for him. It's called a proper thank you for accepting someone's help." Here we go again with tradition. "In my time…" allusions from the past again? "Ok, I'll go." She stopped at once, maybe she was just threatening. I don't know. I didn't bother to know.

"What should I give him?" I shut the door to my room and leaned heavily on it. "I'm on a tight budget so I can't afford to buy him a good gift." I gradually slid down its length, ending up sitting on the floor, hugging both knees. "I should cook for him instead. It's one area I'm confident I'm good in."

I stood in front of the kitchen, gazing into nothingness as the faucet dripped. "What should I cook?" I tightened the handle. "I have no idea." I looked inside the refrigerator. "I guess all I can do is prepare an ordinary but wonderful meal." I started with the tofu dengaku miso soup, some salad, and then moved into the ebi and yasai tempura, then Mizu yokan, and finally Tori no mizutaki, and of course, rice.

I arranged the food neatly, pouring in the tea in a separate container to keep it warm. After the wrapping and the clean up was done, the next bubble burst in my head. "I don't even know where he lives!" I was at the brink of trashing the kitchen, though I stopped since I might ruin the food I worked so hard to cook.

I sat down on the sofa to think, and primarily to calm down. The directory lay across off me on the table. I picked it up, started to flip through the pages, looking for the surname Souichiro. When I did find it, it had not been the only, but a quite a number. I didn't know any of them. I didn't even know who was Jin's dad. I wasn't going to leave it up to chance.

I'm not deaf. I ran back to my room. Looked in my caller id for the caller who called that day. As soon as I found the unknown number, I wrote it down, the phone in my hand. I tried to make a call, but I couldn't even get past dialling the numbers. It would always end up in me returning the phone down. Taking one last breath, I raised the phone from its receiver and started to punch in the numbers.

I could hear the phone ring on the other side. I was just contemplating whether I should just return the phone back to its receiver. As my fingers struggled to do so, my arm remained firm in its resolution. It didn't move, it was held there between two opposing directions. The phone was picked up. "Souichiro residence."

"Um, good morning. Um, can I speak to, um, Jin-san please?" My heart was racing while my cheeks were burning. "I'm sorry, but he's not home right now." What? But what about the food I laboured on to prepare? "Though I'm quite sure he's at the basketball gym right now. Can I know who's calling please?" Dodge it. "A friend." That was vague. "A friend with no name?" Such persistence, but with reason. How would Jin know which friend anyways? "Karin." I admitted defeat. "Well, Karin, would you like to leave a message?" A debate ensued in my head: to leave or not to leave. "No. That's all right." The verdict was in favour of the opposition. "Ok then, I'll tell him you called, good bye." I could only reply the same "goodbye," as the phone was set down.

I set out from our house towards Kainan. Getting there was fairly easy. I just had to ride the same bus I got lost in. Upon arriving at the school was a different question. I headed for the main entrance. As soon as I entered it, it felt like I had entered the room of mirrors. The halls seemed to stretch forever, the classrooms loomed from both sides, and aside from that would only be another set of stairs.

"Hey you!" I would've run if it were not for that awfully familiar annoying voice. "It's you again." Nobunaga walked away from the drinking fountain. "What are you doing here?" I hid the bento box behind me. "Do you know where Jin is?'

"Yeah. He's in the gym, practicing his shots." Why would he even need to practice? He's like, that good. "Anyways, let's go, I'll take you to him, as long as you share what's inside that bento box after." How'd he know?

The gym doors opened to reveal Jin dribbling the ball three times before he bent his knees, and bounced back again, his feet half-lifting from the floor for a nice, clean shot.

"Jin." Jin smiled as he turned around, though it changed into a look of surprise when he saw who was beside Nobunaga. "You again. Sorry for calling you, you, but I don't know your name." He doesn't? Oh yeah, I didn't mention it to him. "I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself." I bowed to apologize. "I'm Takahashi Karin." He held out his hand for a handshake. "Souichiro Jin." I already know. The basketball team made everyone know who you are. And due to my sources, that part of the news didn't fail to reach me. "Nice to meet you." Now, on to what I came for.

"Hey Jin, how about a one on one?" Nobunaga challenged, his right hand already twisting the ball with one finger. "I'm not yet finished with practicing my shots. Maybe later." Nobunaga did a jump shot. "Fine." He chased after the ball and passed it to Jin. Before he could start to dribble, he remembered my existence. "Oh yeah, why were you here again?"

"I'd prefer to leave it till later." Jin started dribbling the ball. "Ok then, can you wait for a while? I just have to finish my shots. I only have 15 more to do." After I nodded my head in approval, "Great then, you can just take a seat in the bleachers."

I watched as he moved in different angles from outside the three-point line. After every shot dropped in with a swish, Nobunaga took another ball and then before the first one could reach the ground, he was already throwing another one at Jin. Jin wasn't taking the whole ordeal lightly either. He wasn't smiling like he usually does, and remained focused entirely on the ball. He didn't hesitate nor take too much time in positioning himself for a shot.

He was finished quicker than I expected. I couldn't help but express my amazement and started to clap thunderously. He responded with a humble smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Oh, I have to buy this game, it's on sale right now, so see you later Jin." He gave Jin a pat on the back before he left, and a peace sign to me.

"Wait here while I get changed." I stood up from the bleachers and looked around the court. I grabbed a basketball and started to dribble it in the way Mitsui had taught me. "You play basketball?" I didn't hear him come out from the locker room. "No." I was just returning the ball when, "Would you like to try a shot?" The free-throw line is even far for me. "Come on, just try." I guess he wasn't really going to allow me to back down. "Ok then." I replied, hesitation written all over my face.

He picked up the ball and placed it in my hands and asked me how would I position my hands and arms. "I don't know." He let out a small laugh before letting my right hand hold the part of the ball that was facing me, my left hand resting on the down left curve of the ball. On practicing how to shoot the ball, with my elbows in an angle, he taught me that I should flex my right hand back, my left hand sort of following through. "Flick your wrist when you release it." Then, I bent my knees, practicing that almost springing movement with the feet.

"There. Try it." I did, though I greatly missed. It was an air ball. "Told you." Though he didn't seem discouraged at all. "Let's do it one more time." I took the ball, and went back to the free-throw line. "This still isn't going to work." He stood behind me, held my hands just like how kids were first taught to write - with something guiding them.

We went through the whole process and it seemed like I was a puppet for I followed in his movements, though I was a bit stiff. And upon the release, the ball went in.

"Though it had not been me who shot it." He still clapped his hands to congratulate me. "It was your hands that held the ball, so it was your shot." What a weird logic.

As we sat under the shade of the tree, I decided to take out my bento box. "It's for you." I said, opening it and handing him the chopsticks. "What for?" Should I say as repayment for his help? "Just to thank you." He began to eat vigorously, it being likely that he was hungry from his practice. "This is really, really good!" He almost choked on the ebi-tempura and I rushed to pour some tea for him, which he eagerly drank. "The practice made you hungry eh?" He nodded enthusiastically, still engaged in eating. From the smile that he acquired with every bite, I should add that he was enjoying it. "Everyday, I practice to maintain my shooting skills." Since he said it, "I don't think you need to, at least not everyday." He placed his chopsticks down, fully stopping for the first time.

"When I joined the team, I wasn't really strong, or very fast, or that good at breaking through the other team's defence. It seemed as if I didn't have a position that I could fit in. But I wasn't also willing on letting the coach's criticism of me hinder me from doing what I wanted to do the most. So I started to practice long-range shooting. Luckily, it worked for me." It was a side of him I didn't know about. He laughed again, picking up his chopsticks and resumed to eat.

I didn't bother him with any other questions after that. Nor did I say anything. We continued to sit there, under the sun, hidden beneath the shade of the trees, and it remained so until the chopsticks were placed down with finality, and the bento box? Empty.

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Ok… not been able to review for a few days, cause well, had exams… so I made this kinda long, to compensate a bit hehehe… anyways, hope you liked it! Oh and I haven't been putting in some like explanations for the Japanese words… didn't think it'd be important… unless, it would be in a conversation. But if you're wondering… don't hesitate to ask… next chapter… um… what would you like to see in the next chapter? joke… hehehe… um… a bit of miyagi again… a hint of Mitsui, a dash of Sakuragi taking what Karin said the last chapter too seriously, and um, some more rebuilding and healing… hehehehe… 


	9. Uncovering

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehehe… yup, there's another one that's even larger than that coming… hehehe… all I'm saying is it's going to be 3 days straight… hehehe.. yup, though this time it was Jin teaching not Karin… yeah, Kiyota knows when he has to give some space… you'll know what I mean in this chapter…

**Coffeemaverick**: I hope your connections alright now… Jin was cute… hehehe… I know but it's true, the other chapters haven't revealed their names…

**Moonlightgirl11**: thank you… yeah, there isn't a lot of conversations compared to description… hehe…

**Simmic**: yeah, Sakuragi's more like that, though if it were for Sakuragi I'd probably go overboard with the descriptions… though I liked to express just how when you do something really intense I guess or something, I don't know it seems as if you have more energy to eat after that activity… hehehe… Sakuragi is in this chapter and well he just took everything Karin said TOO seriously.. hehehe… and yup, it's kinda hard to put Jin and Karin always in every chapter, cause well they live apart, go to different school's and stuff, but yeah, there is a bit of Karin and Jin here… another new discovery… hehehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Hello? Good Evening? Can I speak to Hagino Naru please?" I was asked to wait, and sure enough, after a few seconds somebody picked up. "Hagino Naru speaking." I had to call her because of a project I had to do for English. It was to write an article describing someone who could be considered talented and is making use of that talent. The majority of them seized the opportunity to interview the basketball team, a lot still chose players from other sports, and the rest included the rest of the available clubs. I sat it fitting, as well as it made sense to me that I should write about Hagino Naru since she just recently won the contest and that it is only proper that her achievement and her talent be highlighted. "Let's meet at Shohoku theatre then, at, 10:00 am? Great. Thanks again Hagino-san. Bye."

I was sitting peacefully on a table in the cafeteria about to eat my lunch when I saw Sakuragi heading towards my table. Farewell, lunch. As soon as he sat he took a bite of one of my ebi-tempura. "Hey, senpai, I've decided," another one gone. "to let Haruko," there were none left. "know of my feelings," He moved to snack at my yakitori. "for her." Give me a minute to connect the dots.

I choked on my drink. "Senpai, are you alright?" When he noticed that my meal was almost finished, he stopped eating, though the longing in his eyes lingered still. "Anyways," He said, trying to resist the slice of cake I unveiled. "I just want to thank you for encouraging me, and to ask for your help." Me? Help you with what? Please don't say Haruko. "What should I do senpai? Whenever I talk to her," it is about Haruko. "Here comes Rukawa and instantly, she's forgotten everything. Is this some form of retribution for letting you pay for your food?

"Well, maybe you should tone down on your –" What am I saying? I definitely sounded like he had to change. He should stay as he is, as Sakuragi. I don't want him to be transformed into some trained robotic human being. Though the possibility of that seems inhumanly impossible in its self. "Yes senpai?" Sakuragi was fully armed; a pen in his hand, ready to write whatever word comes out of my mouth.

"What do you think you should do?" He repeated the same words, starting to write them. At the middle, he stopped and pocketed his pen. "Sometimes I'm a bit worried when she goes home by herself sometimes, especially since Gori's in college and all. So I thought," He scratched his head, opting for a nervous laugh. "Then do that." He nodded, and then smiled, not like his half-crazed one, but something that resembled almost that of contentment. I guess that answered his questions. "Thanks senpai, I'll definitely do it." I couldn't properly weigh the odds. Did I do more harm than good? Or was it the opposite? I guess I'll have to wait and see.

As soon as school ended, I hurried myself to the theatre. Miyagi stood there, his sports bag in hand, as if he was just heading to the gym. They were conversing amongst themselves, so I tried to sneak away, and purposely, be late. "Takahashi-san." Too late, Hagino eyes swooped down on me like an eagle. Miyagi was just about to leave when I blocked his way. "You don't have to leave so soon, right… Naru-san?" Hagino looked at me, then at him and nodded. Miyagi rested his bag and took a seat.

"So, Hagino-san, since when have you been playing the violin?" I steadied the grip on my pen. "Since 6 years old, my mom enrolled me for some lessons." She held in her arms the violin, and caressed its case. "And how long do you usually practice?" She shifted the violin to rest horizontally on her lap. "On a typically day?" I met her gaze and nodded. "Well, around 4 –5 hours, at the least 3." That's a lot. Her determination and dedication were impressive altogether. "Do you find that, it disrupts, or interrupts with your schoolwork?" She shook her head. "Not really, it's not like I'm a genius when it comes to core courses, plus I plan to take music when I get to college, so naturally, music becomes number 1."

"Does it still leave you time to still do other things? Like going out with friends…" She cut in at that. "No, there's not a lot of time for that, but most of my friends are fellow musicians too, so they're not that bothered or annoyed at me when that does happen."

Miyagi stood after that. "Um, gotta go. Practice's starting." We both nodded our heads, and waved him goodbye. There was a lot yet to learn from Hagino Naru.

After the interview was done, Hagino quickly excused herself, refusing my offer to watch the basketball team practice. "Aren't you afraid that I'm the spy for Takezono?" She joked. I thought of being sarcastic and say something like "Aren't you aware of the scores from last year?" I didn't continue with it. I held my tongue in.

The familiar tone of a call filled my ears. I grabbed my cell phone. "Karin, can you bring my dinner please?" Ever since my aunt's been laid out from her job, she has experienced a steady decline in the companies who accepted her. There was one, and she became one of the many secretaries, but this was only a small company, and could only afford, to pay small. So now, she has a part-time job as a salesclerk in this mall near her office. "I'll be there." It has been quite a while since we sat down and ate dinner together. I didn't want to admit it, but secretly, I knew I already did.

After delivering her meal, in which my expression changed from my normal one to somewhat teary-eyed and even to an extent, worried, I gave her a quick hug, after which I smiled and quickly went on my way.

I stood in front of a shop, admiring a dress that was being displayed. "Even here you're here? I'm starting to think you're like a stalker or close to that." Right, just what I need - an undecided, undetermined, unwanted, unlucky day dose of Nobunaga Kiyota.

His phone rang. "Save your praises." The only praise your going to get is – no, I don't have time even for that. I started to walk away when I heard him say, "Jin, where the hell is it? I've been-" He stopped, turned around, and stood firmly on the ground. "Fine, sorry, my bad, I'm standing in front of it."

"Hey, Karin, wrong way. It's there." I followed him to a coffee house. We stood in line, and after two people went by, Jin's smiled greeted us from behind the counter. "So um, I'll get a um, one Espresso Ristretto." He pushed some buttons and the total price showed on the screen.

"What? I have to pay now?" Jin just nodded. "I thought it's free since I brought –" He stopped there as if he'd lost his ability to speak. He looked at Jin, Jin looked back, expressionless. Nobunaga quickly recovered from his self-induced coma, to my dismay, and reached inside his pocket. "my Kainan I.D." He smiled as he showed it, though a bead of sweat trickled from his forehead.

When Jin didn't accept it, he dug into his pocket and paid his tab. Jin was more than willing to get his hands at Nobunaga's money. He handed him his change and while Nobunaga went to find a table, I guess that meant it was my turn.

"Um, uh." I scanned through the names. "What's a café frappuccino?" I whispered. He stifled a laugh that was just surfacing. "It's this slush-like drink. Like blended coffee, with ice, and flavorings." I nodded my head. "I'll take that then." I waited for the price to show. But he just handed me the cup. "It's free." I closed my wallet. "Are you sure?" He laughed again and pushed the cup towards me. "I've never heard of a person who doesn't like good free stuff."

"I'm just asking." I retorted in my defence. "It's already paid for." He pushed the cup further towards me. I held the cup with both hands. "Thank you, again." I smiled before heading towards where Nobunaga sat.

"Ne, Karin, I just saw some cool new mp3 players, I'll go and check them for a while." I nodded, glad that he didn't ask if I paid or didn't. I sipped my café frappuccino slowly; at the very least, its taste was addictive.

Not long after that, Jin sat on the chair opposite me. "Isn't your manager going to get angry?" I scanned the area for anyone who might look one. Looks can be deceiving. "It's my break right now, and that Nobunaga left you again…" I looked out of the window, watched as the cars drove by. "Um, Karin, I was wondering, –" Nobunaga ran back to our seat. "Jin, do you have like 500 yen, I'm short of money!" Jin didn't think twice but just handed him the coin.

'What were you saying again?' I wanted to ask. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. "The manager's calling for me now. Later!" He left the table and resumed his place from behind the counter.

It was not until his shift had ended that he came back. Talk with Nobunaga had been minimal and at the very least, extremely annoying. We got into an argument of how I seemed to be stalking him, and then he continued to rant of his terrific skills, and how Shohoku never crossed his mind as a school that they'd fight in the Inter-high championships.

It was with my greatest pleasure when Jin ushered us out of the coffee shop and started to walk with us. "Hey Karin, are you involved with someone right now?" Nobunaga really has run out of things to say. "No, why?" I threw it right back at him. "I was getting worried about the stalking thing, it's kind of unfair you know, if…" How dare you! I turned to face Nobunaga when I found Jin clutching his side. "Are you all right?" He nodded his head, though he seemed to ever so slightly wince at that. Nobunaga looked his most innocent in face ever. He must be the one who did it.

"Anyways, gotta run again…" Nobunaga broke away, and soon there were only two - me, and you. "Coach told us that we'd have another practice match in Shohoku." There was a glint in his eyes. "Last year Jin, you got lucky ok? This year, your team's going down."

"Not if I can help it." He had a smile plastered to his face; I could not help but pout. "That's unfair." I playfully punched him on the left arm, though it only irritated me more when he mockingly winced. "What's unfair?" I crossed my arms and huffed, turning my head the other way.

Jin pulled away the band that held my ponytail. "Karin's pissed." I held out my palm, indicating with a brow that he better return it. He gave me a five. I still held out my hand. When his hand reached out to hand it over, I pulled him by the wrist, stood on my tiptoes and ruined his hair. He light-heartedly quickened his as if to grab me, before resuming to tidy up his hair.

I drew back closer to him, and with my left hand, tried to reach his head, though he caught my hand before I could get there. "I'm trying to help." He let go of my hand, and true to my word, I helped tidy up what I tousled less than a minute ago.

We continued to walk, guards still fully raised, in case one would initiate an attack. It had to end though, when we had to take separate trains to get to what we call home.

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That's all for now… another longer chapter from me… cause I missed a few days already… hehehehe… I hoped it was in fact a bit light, especially in the Jin part… I hope you liked it too… things are getting better, and just so you won't be confused, there are no whatsoever triangles in here… hehehe… I'm trying my best to write a better sequel… hehehe… so please bear with me… 


	10. Divide and Conquer

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehehe… thanks! Yeah, Kiyota is a good friend, he knows when he's not needed… hehehehe… Miyagi and Hagino… I think based on the interview; Miyagi knows he's got some work to do… hehehe… cute na naman ulit this chapter… I hope… hehehe…

**Coffeemaverick**: you're actually on the dot… I thought of the scene and when I wrote that dialogue Kiyota was really supposed to say since I brought her. Hehe.. though I cut off that part… hehehe… um… actually Kiyota actually asked what Jin wanted to know already… hehehe… we don't want to rush into things… Karin's just getting over so, yeah, the story better take it easy on her… hehehe

**Simmic**: well, I think part of what you said may be the reason… hehehe… but I looked at Jin's pic and I thought ok, he kinda to me, looks like a carefree guy, not too serious, not too laidback, but at the same time, he also has this aura of almost shyness or I don't know, and his smile enables me to at least put things like this that are light, but not too overpowering or dominating in the story… it just showed itself in the ninth chapter, a bit on the eighth one with the eating part, but it was small snippets and didn't really take in or grew into a big scene… hehehe… cause he doesn't look too serious to me though, maybe unless he's playing b-ball… hehehe… which he will be right here! Hehehe… well I do hope you weren't too bothered with that part… hehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

Lately, the tension inside the court between Miyagi and Ayako turned out to be much better. At first he used to ignore her all the time, not even bothering to check with her on the progress of the team. But on this particular day, he did. The ball went out of bounds even as Sakuragi dove to save it. "I'll get it." Ayako volunteered. "No, I'll get it." Miyagi was already running to where the ball lay. At least he said something.

I would say that the loss of Akagi, Kogure and Mitsui highly impacted the team. Aside from being the point guard, Miyagi now had to shoulder the task of building up the team's morale, increasing their bond as a team, and to promote teamwork, and a bit of healthy competition. Sakuragi replaced Akagi as the new Center. Though there didn't seem to be a blossoming 3-point shooter. It seemed as if they once again returned to being a starting team – a green team. But, other schools have also lost some of their valuable players. Ryonan lost Uozumi. Shoyo lost Fujima and Hanagata. And from Kainan, Maki already graduated. It seems that they're still evenly matched after all.

Things between Ayako and I are also improving. On one of the practices, she offered me a drink, and I said "Thanks" to which she replied, "Your welcome."

Ever since Interhigh drew closer, Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui oftentimes visit the team during practice. Akagi spoke mostly to Miyagi about leadership skills and also served as a part-time trainer to Sakuragi. Kogure for the most part helps out with training most of the new members, while Mitsui frequently scouts the team for a potential successor to his position.

Things between Mitsui and Miyagi are starting to cool off too. On one of the 3-on-3 practice games they played for fun, Akagi, Mitsui and Kogure on one team, Rukawa, Sakuragi and Miyagi in the other, Sakuragi accidentally knocked Mitsui over and Miyagi being the nearest, held out his hand and helped him to stand. Though after that was pure, raw, heated competition.

Today was the practice Match Kainan had arranged with Shohoku. Anzai-sensei strongly encouraged having matches with the four toughest opponents Shohoku has in order to see where Shohoku stands with the other teams, to assess how they are rebuilding and coping with the loss. To test how strong they have gotten since then.

One could not even say that a group of people gathered to watch the match, as the event had been kept rather private. A few leaked out here and there but the majority of the public had been kept in the dark.

I went inside to find out that Nobunaga had started bickering with Sakuragi on who was the real genius between the two, and Nobunaga declaring that he was the number one rookie and not Rukawa to which his only reply was "Do ahou." Takato-sensei was calmly having a conversation with Anzai-sensei though they were probably trying to sense something out from the other. And Jin was standing on the three-point line, holding a basketball while talking to, Mitsui. Though when I entered he caught my shadow and greeted me in a clear voice. "Karin!" The basketball team and the guntai stopped all their businesses altogether to spare a look at me. Even Anzai-sensei wondered why Sakuragi had stopped shouting. "Karin?" They chorused.

The guntai, led by Sakuragi, towered over me. "As leader of the gang, I am… I am – angry - mad, at… what you've done." He tried his best to control his anger, but true to his words, he was "mad". He looked closer to disappointed to me. Maybe he was looking for that word. "So," Yohei drew out his flashlight, and as the gang hovered around me, it seemed as if I was being interviewed by the police. "Since when have you been hiding this from us?" Hiding has such a negative connotation to my ears. Though what part were you referring to? Jin? Nobunaga? I didn't know where to start. "Not so long ago." They continued to encircle me. "And during this not so long ago interaction, are you sure that you have not divulged any information whatsoever that might be linked to the basketball team or to it's members?" I shook my head. "Is there –" Anzai-sensei quickly cut him off as called the team members to gather for a brief meeting before the game commenced. The guntai forgot about their interrogation and instead, walked up the bleachers to find a seat for themselves.

Ayako wore the whistle around her neck as she walked to the centre circle and Sakuragi and Kainan's new Centre, Satomu, met for the jump ball. As soon as the ball was released, they both jumped in the air, Sakuragi reaching the ball first and quickly smacking it to his left, where Miyagi's hands was itching to get a hold of its rubber surface.

Kainan's new point guard, Kazuma, instantly guarded Miyagi, and after he effortlessly eluded him, it became clear to me, that the only one's left from the previous year's team had been Jin and Nobunaga. Kazuma-san has a tough place to fill in.

Miyagi found Rukawa free near the free-throw line and passed to him. Rukawa, in his nature, being deeply against the idea of passing, forgot about his teamwork skills training and made a wild dash for the basket. His shot was thunderous, opening the game with a reverse slam-dunk.

Kiyota took control of the ball and passed to Kazuma-san as he was running towards the Mid-court line, getting in deep into Shohoku's court to guard Rukawa. As Kazuma dribbled the ball, getting nearer and nearer, and as Shohoku tightened their full-court defence, Kazuma passed diagonally to Jin who was waiting near the sidelines, and as Toki Kuwata jumped to block him, he had already shot, and just as sure, it went in with a swish.

Kainan, still starting out with mostly new team members, hadn't built up to match last year's line-up, though they were developing themselves to become excellent in the act of screening.

Kainan was already back on their side of the court, and Miyagi passed the ball to Kentarou Ishii as he cut in inside, while Ishii moved outside and dribbled to his left, passing back to Miyagi, and Miyagi threw it high into the air, and when it was obviously an air-ball, Sakuragi in no time was in the air, and performed a successful alley-hoop. The rest of the team gave Sakuragi a high-five, running back to defend their court.

Again, Kazuma passed to Kiyota who was just outside the free-throw line, though he had a hard time finding a teammate as Rukawa was guarding him heavily. He passed all the way back into Satomu just under the net, Sakuragi wasted no time in showing off his tremendous wall, and Satomu having not seen anything like it, bounced the ball back to Kiyota who was running to the free-throw lane, and Rukawa was cut off by Satomu himself, Sakuragi left to face Kiyota. Kiyota raised his hand to shoot, and while Sakuragi raised his hand to deflect whatever that was coming, it had been a fake, and it directly found itself back to Jin's hands.

Rukawa evaded Kazuma and ran towards Jin. He arrived there on time, and moved to guard him. Jin didn't seem to bother Rukawa's intense gaze, then he leaped once again, Rukawa following him, though when Rukawa tried to swipe the ball from his grasp, he missed, Jin staging a fade-away three-pointer. Again, it went in.

I saw them stop for a moment and face towards me. It was then that I heard the sound of my own clapping. From its speed matching that of a hummingbird's wings, it slowly drawled into a slow beat, until it no longer possessed sound audible to their ears. I dropped them to my side as Jin bowed his head for a laugh before getting back into the game.

Maybe this was their tactic for the day. Make Jin available, at least until they had established a team that could firmly hold their ground. They were using Jin as a support, or as someone that can dig them out from whatever lead Shohoku had. With Jin's shooting percentage, missing a shot only seemed to be a dream. With Shohoku countering mostly with dunks, jump shots, lay-ups, more than three-pointers, it was bound that provided Kainan could find a way to make Jin free, they could easily catch up.

As the game progressed, Kainan started to move more and more within the court. They seemed to always change whom they were guarding. Every time Rukawa received the ball Kazuma and Masato, two of Kainan's tallest players would form a double team. Sakuragi still wasn't taken seriously enough until it lead them to lose a few points especially when Sakuragi got rebounds which were able to give Shohoku a fast-break, and with Miyagi's speed, there was no one that could match him as he easily went for a lay-up, the other players trailing behind him.

Shohoku showed more teamwork later in the game. Rukawa even passed a few times. I think I counted 3. Miyagi always positioned himself close to Jin, and was great in stealing and cutting whenever the ball headed to where Jin was located. Shohoku took the risk and passed the ball sometimes to their point guard, Toki Kuwata, and sure enough, not being expected that the ball would be in his possession, Shohoku gained a few points. Though it wasn't done in a straight row, often it was passed to Sakuragi or Rukawa, back and forth from team members, confusing the Kainan players, only to find another player such as Ishii free for another jump shot.

Though the game didn't go on as smoothly as everyone would like it to be. Sakuragi's fouls were mostly charging. At another attempt to prevent Jin's shot from going in, Sakuragi slapped the ball away, though he did it when the ball was directly above the net, and so Kainan still receives the point. Sakuragi was also called for Lane Violation, because he moved into the lane without the ball even touching the rim yet. Miyagi in his eagerness to steal sometimes would be caught with a double dribble. Kiyota also fouled based on the 3-second rule, because he remained offensive inside the free-throw lane for more than 3 seconds. Sometimes he's also called for palming for he turning over the ball in his hand in between dribbling.

In the end, it had been a close match, though in the last few seconds, as the two teams were still struggling, Shohoku in particular to pull away from Kainan's two-point lead, Masato accidentally loses control of the ball, off it slips away from his grasp, and Miyagi was there in an instant, and throws the ball to Sakuragi who runs, and jumps into the air for what appears to be a slam-dunk, though in a split second he changes his mind, and tosses the ball to Toki Kuwata who is and was at the perfect position at just the right time, and he finishes off with a three-point shot that circumnavigated the rim once before falling inside for the win.

As the Kainan players begin to pack up, Nobunaga and Jin come up to the bleachers to sit at either side of me. Jin set aside his sports bag and placed a towel to dangle from his neck. I unzipped his bag, found the familiar cylindrical container of water, twisted its cap off and handed it to him. "Thanks." As another trickle of sweat made its way down the side of his face, I grabbed the edge of his towel and gently tapped it away. Jin turned his face to look at me, smiled, giving a short, quick bow, gently pulling away the towel from my hand.

"Look at her, if she weren't wearing that uniform I'd swear she was from Kainan herself!" Sakuragi just can't get by a day without expressing his comment. "I heard that!" I yelled while facing the opposite direction. Sakuragi flushed in embarrassment, which changed into a flush of anger, which in turn, was easily subdued by Haruko's presence. "Ha-Haruko san!" And for the third time, he blushed.

"Congratulations, by the way," I said while I handed him his sports bag. "Thanks, though we didn't win." Nobunaga had also finished packing up and stopped beside Jin, elbowing him lightly in the side. "Next time, we're sure to get them. Coach Takato has already developed a new training plan for us." After two taps on the back, Nobunaga followed in the footsteps of his teammates.

He took a step closer, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Well, take care of yourself." I looked down, a smile tugging at the sides of my mouth; it was extremely hard to contain. I felt it conquering its way, evident in the smile that was widening. "You too…" I didn't know what to do after that, and so I laughed. He didn't want me to think that I was going crazy so he laughed with me too, even if we didn't know why in the first place we did.

He stepped back, waved once, and turned to walk away, though a few times he looked back, and I raised my arm to wave at him. He continued to walk, until he reached their bus, and I continued to follow him until he took his seat, followed the bus as it slowly made its way out, I tagged along until it was out of sight. But even after so, I still looked at where it once was. I could still see his eyes looking through mine, and I at his.

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Hehehe… um… to me still light… hahaha… it's always quite funny for me to make up all these excuses just so that they could see each other… I mean, I don't want them to be always popping out here and there, and I don't want the issue of chance, luck, to dominate as the reason as to why they're able to see each other… so I looked in to other factors, and seeing shohoku had a practice match with ryonan… even a match with ryonan and shoyo combined, I said, why not Kainan? So yeah… 


	11. Restarting

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: thank you… hehe.. yup! Can't have then fighting each other till the end of the story… when they have a history as friends, well I don't want them to end it right there… he's really starting to accept the situation and stuff.. hehehe…

**Coffeemaverick**: thank you.. hehehe.. well, I thought why not greet her right? Hehehehe… and of course they'd be quite shocked since it's a bit weird how she would know Jin since he lives all the way in Kainan… hehehe

**Simmic**: well, I was trying to avoid it, but I knew I couldn't because it simply won't be realistic without it… though it'll be limited, since basketball writing isn't my forte.. unfortunately… hehehehe.. thank you.. hehehe… I strive for cuteness in my story… hehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

I almost felt my right foot rise to take a step towards Miyagi before I retrieved my raised foot as I saw Hagino Naru running to catch the train. "Hagino-san." Miyagi greeted. She didn't reply, but continued to walk a few steps ahead before stopping to look back. "Miyagi-san, hello." Miyagi made a move to approach her, "Sorry, I can't talk right now, I'm in a hurry,"

"Lessons?" Miyagi once again cut in. "Yeah. Later!" She entered the train just as Miyagi said to himself," It's okay. I understand how important music is to you." I saw Hagino sit right next to a window and waved to Miyagi before the train hurried on its way.

It started to get windy after that. I held my hair with my left hand, struggling to keep the strands in from running with the seductive breeze. "Where did I put my clip?" A palm stretched out to me, the rubber band resting on its flat surface. "Here you go." I said thanks immediately, grabbed the band and started to tie my hair in a less than neat ponytail. Then I remembered the palm, which stretched to an arm, which became a body, and as I looked up the neck, and finally the face, I recognized him as Jin.

"What! I thought we were going to spend the day together!" A coupled walked out from the train, the girl leading the way. "But I haven't seen my friends in such a long time!" The guy complained. Jin seemed to watch the scene with me, like the people who kept glancing every minute or so.

"But what about us?" She finally stopped and turned to face him. "We see each other every day! My friends just wish for me to be with them for just one day, one day." The girl raised her hands in the air, bringing them back down in frustration. "Fine! Just – do whatever you want!" She walked away, leaving the guy all by himself amidst the bustling crowd. When he saw some of the people turn their eye towards him, he left, not wanting their gaze to linger a moment longer.

"That's got to be bad. I said, though Jin probably mistook it as an invitation to share his thoughts on the subject. "Well, an attitude like that won't get her anywhere. It's certainly not what guys would look for." I felt his gaze on me. I turned my face, and there he was, still looking. "Your train." He reminded me. For some reason, I breathed a sigh of relief. I said the usual farewells, and we parted ways.

I arrived home to find my aunt waiting on the couch, wearing casual clothing instead of her regular uniform. "Now that you've finally arrived, let's go." That's what I get for going home? A half sarcastic remark and, "Where are we going?" She held her bag in one hand, and opened the other with the other, holding it with the same one, waiting for me to pass.

"The Mitsui's have invited us to dinner. Remember?" I did now. Since both of our families, or at least my aunt was a friend of their, it has been a tradition to invited us once every month, and if busy, once every two months to dinner. I forgot that today had been that day. Maybe I wasn't looking forward to it.

I barely had time to change out of my uniform, lest change my mind, before my aunt threatened to leave me behind. Though she wouldn't do that for real. It'll be extremely rude to the Mitsui's.

When we arrived, Mitsui opened the door for us and after taking off our shoes; we set immediately into the kitchen to help Mrs. Mitsui to prepare the meals. Ayako was already slicing the vegetables.

Everything was great nonetheless. I got to cook, I got to eat the food I cooked, they got to taste it as well, I did a great job at it as usual, though after eating, Ayako quickly volunteered herself to wash the dishes. At least I didn't see him as much, nor was I expected to talk to him.

But after everything was said and done, it became another story. My aunt started the small talk with the family, and the usual catching up with what went on in each other's lives. I saw Mitsui's mother come down the stairs carrying an album from their vacation in Sapporo. A she passed by the living room, she poked Mitsui in the arm, mumbling some words to him, which caused him to turn and look at me. He said something to his mother before looked back once more to the TV.

"Karin, go talk to Mitsui. Go." As my aunt kept on putting the pressure on me, I stood up, excused myself and headed to the living room. As he sat on the far corner of the couch, I saw on the other corner. He was watching the NCAA again.

"You can change the channel if you want to." As he moved to pick the remote control up, "No, it's okay." I replied. He settled back into the couch, leaning heavily on its arm.

I turned my attention back to the game. I looked at the time. There wasn't much left. Three minutes remained on the clock, which counted down, 2:59, 2:58, and as I switched to the scores there was a 4-point lead on somebody else's team.

As a player in white jersey perfomed a successful lay-up and as the lead grew from four to six, I secretly began to root for the blue team, the Osaka team.

AS blue jerseys began to move on the screen, trying to find a crack in their opponents defence, the dribbler found himself losing time, and not wanting to be caught with a 30-second violation, he took the risk to shoot a 3-pointer. It went in.

"Woot!" Mitsui piercingly and energetically whistled. As the blue team ran back to defend their court, an air of anxiousness lingered in the air. "Defence!" Mistui yelled as if he was really watching. As if they could hear him.

When a shot was attempted and it rebounded, I found my heart skipping a beat as the blue team took an opportunity for a fast break as number 4 made a mad dash, passing to number 23 running on his left and in a second he was in the air, releasing the ball for another 3-pointer, and again, it went in, touching nothing but the net. Only one minute remained on the clock. They had managed to tie their opponent.

The white team called for a time-out. After a brief showcase of the coach and players from both teams, the game was signalled to resume its play.

At 30 seconds, as number 7 on the white team attempted a shot, it was slapped away and possession of the ball was transferred to the blue team. Because of the intense and superb defence the white team were putting up, the ball was cut off and it went in the direction of the sidelines, number 8 of the blue team dove just in time to save it, and control of the ball was given to them.

At that instant, the blue team called for a time-out. It had been short, just as the time left had been, and between winning and going into a overtime depended on how they were going to attack for the last few seconds.

"Go!" Mitsui cheered. It had been in the perfect spot, just near the white team's basket, and their perfect player was in the best possible receiving place, just under the net. As soon as he received the magnificent pass, he jumped in the air for a slam dunk, the white team's center jumped alongside with him, hoping to block his shot, though he switched the ball to his left, and dunked with only 3 seconds left.

"Whoo!" As I counted 3, 2, 1 with him, the excitement hadn't subsided. As the whistle sounded it was officially over and we too felt as if we ad won. He raised himself from his seat, cheering wildly. Though it seemed to have rained since there was a splash of liquid on my arm. I saw Mitsui holding his canned soda with his left hand, the word guilty stamped all over his face.

Ayako arrived and immediately smacked him on the head. "Sorry Karin, I got carried away." I didn't bother to contain my anger. "Get a towel you idiot." It seems Ayako had read my mind. He ran as fast as he could and came back with not one, but two. He stretched out his arm cautiously, and I grabbed it irritably from him he flinched.

"Wait a minute," He complained. "This isn't right! I'm supposed to be the one doing the bullying." He approached me and as I stood to run away, he grabbed me by the ponytail, and I sat back down, and Ayako smacked him with her fan and he sat down. I faced him laughing nervously, which he matched with his evil one, his eyes burning with revenge from the humiliation I had just caused on his delicate pride. Ayako raised her fan to defend me.

Though he seemed to remember that we were not really in speaking terms and withdrew his attack.

"Ne, Mitsui," I interrupted before he could fully retreat, Ayako following him closely. "Aren't you tired of this? Are we just going to throw away our friendship for what happened? If so, then why'd we even try to preserve it for years!"

Ayako continued with hitting him on the head. "What was that for?" What followed next, I didn't expect. "Let's all go back to beind friends, ne Karin?" Mitsui nodded his head. I smiled. Maybe it had been enough. Maybe I had enough. Ayako and Mitsui both stretched out their hands to me, and I grabbed both of them as they pulled me to stand up.

"Yeah. Friends." I could help but cry. Mitsui still didn't know how to deal with it as he kept on running around his house frantically, looking for a box of Kleenex. Ayako offered me a shoulder to cry on. "I'm sorry." She patted my head like an older sister. "I'm sorry too." Mitsui handed me his handkerchief instead. "Me too." It truly felt as if a burden I had been carrying had been lifted from me. I stopped crying because of the light feeling I was experiencing.

I returned Mitsui his handkerchief and saw my aunt excusing herself to leave.

"Ne, Ayako's getting to know the family already? I heard Mitsui's parents say they approve of you." Ayako blushed though being Ayako, she didn't leave it at that. She couldn't leave it at that. "Ne, getting to be adopted into Kainan's family as well?" Now it was my turn to blush. Her grin was evil. "Oh yeah," Mitsui piped in. "You mean that Jin guy?" I motioned for him to keep his voice down, though it was more appropriately teamed to shut up.

"Who's Jin?" My aunt asked, obviously waiting for me. "I laughed, so did Ayako, and Mitsui finally followed. I laughed half nervous half infuriated. Ayako laughed part giddy, the other half relieved my aunt didn't know who Jin is. Mitsui laughed partly because he knew he was guiltly, and partly because he was frightened. He knew I wasn't going to let go of this.

Ayako smacked him with her fan yet again, still laughing. "No, he said "Rin, ka-RIN?" She kept on laughing still smacking mitsui with her enormous paper fan. "Oh I though I heard something else." I was relieved when she didn't enquire further. She continued to hit him, and with every hit, his eyebrows twitched at the pain.

"Ne, let's go." I quietly closed the subject. I walked to grab my things though I realized I didn't bring any. We finaly got out, and as we closed the door I felt relieved. First, because I hadn't been caught, and second because for a short period of time, it reminded me of how much I actually missed our friendship. Now if only Miyagi had been here.

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Sorry for the long update… hehehe… I have a position essay that I still have to finish… hehehehe… but anyways, there's still some progress, and well… Jin's kinda wanting to move on… though… well whatever… later… hehehehe… it isn't exactly that easy… why would I want things to be easy? Hehehehe… I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


	12. Listen

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Kalyope Medina Burato**: hehehe… your new username's funny… I agree that it's time to move on… yup, well I don't think it would be very nice for Ayako to be subdued and be a goody good person suddenly… she's got to keep some of that spunk! Hehehe… what's with miyagi and nagino? What do you think is up with Miyagi and Nagino? Jk… hehehe…

**Coffeemaverick**: thank you… yup, it also good it's been cleared up… yup, now that jin is around… well you'll find out in this chapter…

**Simmic**: thank you… and I think you'll enjoy reading it. hintkarinjinhint… hehehehe…

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**A/N**: I think this has been my longest absence yet… well I was writing an epistemology essay for philosophy… so I needed to think… hehehe… anyways, I made a longer chapter too to make up for the lost time…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Ne, Karin, can you come sit with us?" Ayako invited me, during our lunch break. "We're hoping to find Miyagi." Mitsui started to fill in the blanks. Miyagi arrived not a second later and began to make his way to the guntai's table. I could feel my feet tingle, it wanted to stand me up, and my lips quivered to call, "Miyagi!" Ayako did it for me. Miyagi stopped in his tracks, his food tray still in his hands. "Can you come over for a minute?" He spared all of us a glance, and when his eyes settled to look at mine, I lowered my gaze to my hands. "It's lunch Ayako, I'm sure this could-"

"It can't wait Miyagi." Ayako insisted. Mitsui stood up from his seat. "Ayako." At least he knows that Ayako's impatience may be a setback to what little progress they have established with Miyagi. We have to tread carefully in his territory – his feelings. "Fine." Miyagi said. He sat down beside me. "So what's there to talk about?" It's not promising. He's already irritated. Most of the time, trying to make an irritated person recognize his or her mistakes is a bad idea. The problem might not be resolved, or worse, it'll escalate into an even bigger problem.

"We were just thinking Miyagi," Mitsui began to talk, and that's when I looked him directly in the eye, and was glad he realized it as a sign to stop. Saying 'we' would definitely not sound good to Miyagi's ears. Saying 'we' sounds like we're isolating him, or worse, ganging up on him – just like what he thought we did last time.

"You and the rest were thinking what?" Not good. He's starting to get impatient. "Miyagi, I just wanted you to know," I took in a deep breath, "that I'm tired of us constantly acting cold towards each other." I looked at Ayako and nodded my head. "I'm tired too, I mean, it's hard enough to see you everyday at practice and be reminded of what's happened, but it's even harder to see you when I know we're not at least in good terms with each other."

"I'm just gonna cut to the chase Miyagi." Mitsui wasted no time in voicing out his feelings. "Cause you know that I'm not good at sentimental things." Miyagi stopped eating his lunch. "I mean, we've been enemies before, and we've become friends, and then we're somehow back to where we started. I just think that if we were able to overcome being enemies before, we sure as hell can do it again."

Now, it was all up to Miyagi. I don't know if he's ready to accept or not, "It's not that easy." Just like that. "Nobody said it was going to be easy!" Crap. I let my emotions take over. Think of it as a person you have to convince, don't attack the defence, just find a way to get around it without destroying his shield. Then he won't feel as if you've imposed your idea on him, but rather that he did it out of his own free will. "It's easy for you to say that," Miyagi didn't let it go. If I didn't answer, I just gave him the consent to say he was right, and if I answered, I might anger him further, and we might just fight, but it's a risk I'll have to take.

"Why do you say so?" At least the way I said it had been my calmest, though that meant I'm a wreck inside. "Because of what's his name again? Jin?" I could have taken it down the positive route, though the way he said it made me think otherwise. I didn't know what he was talking about, though it didn't sound good to me. "What are you trying to say?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm trying to say." I reached a dead end. There was no more diversion that my anger could go through, it could only go up. It began to surface. "Are you trying to say that I'm using Jin to forget about the past!" Maybe I shouldn't have done that, though I figured it's too late for that now.

"Miyagi," Mitsui interrupted. "The same thing goes for you, and you." He continued mixing in Ayako with the problem. "What!" Mitsui retorted. I think he'd prefer if Miyagi insult him, but he would want Miyagi to leave Ayako out of it. "It's easy for all of you to say so." With that, Miyagi stood to leave, but Ayako reached out to stop him. "Miyagi Ryota!" Her hand was poised to whack him in the head with her fan, though Mitsui held her back. It was no use. We all had lost our tempers. I left too.

What Miyagi said was disturbing. It wrecked havoc in my mind. I wasn't doing that was I? Of course I didn't. Why would I? But what if I had unconsciously done it? Is it ridiculously impossible? I don't think so. If I am using Jin, then he must be right. If I am not, then what do I feel for him? What does my heart tell me? It speaks, though I cannot understand. Though I think I couldn't understand what it was saying since I was covering my ears, muffling its sound. I feel somewhat scared to take off the hands over my ears, and hear its message clearly. Somehow, I am scared. I don't know why.

I was back at the train station, waiting for the familiar train to pick me up and deliver me to start my shift of work. I saw Jin not that far away, though he seemed to be facing the wrong directing and appeared to be talking to somebody. I drew closer, wanting to startle him. Though when I remembered what Miyagi said to me, my feet automatically refused to move. "Talk to you later Jin." I heard Mitsui's voice say. Jin nodded. I hid behind a column. Ayako pulled Jin closer and whispered something in his ear, glancing in my direction, and he followed her gaze. Did he see me?

Jin started bowing and thanked the two. What did she tell him? "Karin, our conversation's ended, you can come out now." So I was seen. "Karin's not here." I replied. I was too embarrassed to show my face. "Then, Karin's voice-a-like please come out now." I emerged from my hiding. There was only one thing in my mind. What did Ayako tell him?

"Hello. Off to work?" As I nodded my head, Ayako dragged Mitsui away. "I'll go with you." He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the train that just arrived. I didn't even notice it was actually the train that I was supposed to ride.

We sat down and as the train began to move in its rails, we ended up not speaking another word to each other. I had too many things going on in my mind. The most current was what did Ayako tell him? Others included, my grades, which seemed to be declining, my job, which seemed to be bothering my studies, and the money I needed to fuel these things and keep them running.

"You don't have to force yourself to verbally say something." Jin said. "Even when you think you're quiet, there's still silence, and as they say, 'in the stillness, the soul will speak'.(1)" I calmed down after the reassurance he gave me. His presence alone comforts me, though I was scared that even though that in not speaking he might feel that the silence was deafening. But now that I know he doesn't, it made me relax.

I just looked out of the window the whole time, and I didn't even need to worry if we've arrived at our destination or not. He asked me for the station, and as I mentioned it, he told me I could get lost in my thoughts along the way, and he'd find me in time so that we could get out of the train. He did, and as we descended from the train, he asked me for the address of my job site, and being good with directions, he told me that I shouldn't worry about getting to work for he'll take me there. He did, as he held my hand, and all the while I had been peeling my problems one by one. I had emptied my thoughts of every single problem, and focused on, nothing. It was good to escape reality for a while. We arrived, and he took me inside, I had to open the door for my problems to go back inside.

He took out his books and notebooks, ordered a meal, and began to do his homework. I didn't see him for I had been in the kitchen, though I did everything in my power to make his meal the best. It grew busier as it drew to 7 – 8 pm, and at 9pm it started to subside. I ended my shift at 10pm, and as I gathered my things, I saw him still sitting on the table, quietly sipping his drink.

"Let's go home?" I nodded and he collected his books and placed them back inside his bag, and we rode the train home, and though I just stared at the lights that radiated from the buildings and homes, the silence didn't disturb me. He angled my head to rest on his shoulder, though I didn't sleep. He walked with me to the bus stop, he walked with me through our neighbourhood, all the way to our house, which of course, all of it's light were put out. Auntie was still at work. He walked with me inside our house, and asked me to sit down on the couch while he prepared a meal for me.

I did, and he turned on the TV. I became more at ease when I remembered that I didn't have any homework to do today, since it had mostly been seatwork throughout the day. I took the opportunity to take a shower and change my clothes, and when I came back down, he was just laying the food on the table.

"You should eat too." I suggested though he dismissed it and asked me to eat more. He wasn't experienced in cooking, and the food was ok, though as I ate it, I couldn't help but smile. "You like it?" I ate little by little, savouring the flavour. "The best meal I had." I replied. Nobody other than my aunt had cooked before. Mitsui was too lazy. Once, he left the oil in the pan, watched TV. He only realized there was something wrong when the smoke reached him.

"You should go to bed now," he reminded me when the clock showed it was 12:30 already. He followed me upstairs, though I didn't think he was that kind of person. I laid down on the soft cushion, while he placed the blanket over me, and tucked it at the sides. He then sat down on the floor. "Don't take what others tell you too seriously. You should consider it, but when they judge you, you shouldn't take it too seriously. There are some things that you mention to acquaintances, others to friends, and still others to your family, but there will always be some things that you will keep to yourself. And when somebody claims this or that about you, you have to remember that no matter what happens, that person will never know you fully, since there will always be things that you will not be comfortable mentioning to others. And since it is only you who knows yourself better than anybody else, you should listen to yourself, and what it tries to tell you. For what comes from you, comes from within you." He stood up, and made his way to the door. "Goodnight." He switched off the lights and closed it. I listened for his steps, until it faded into the distance. I realized he walked with me every step of the way. I slept without worries that night.

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(1) It came from The Oculatum

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Ok… well, I figured that I might as well write two chapters so the next one is coming up, or rather I'm still typing it… hehehe… hope you enjoyed it… 


	13. Happy Birthday

Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick**: thank you… well, I focus more on like sacrificing of time, rather than giving semi-precious necklaces for gifts and stuff… hehehe… cause I think that time has really become so important these days, and for you to give up your time for somebody else, weighs like a diamond! Hehehe… anyways, I hope you'll also enjoy this chapter… 

**Frost'd**: thank you… hehe… oh, and more jinxkarin… it's actually a sequel, though you don't need to read the sequel, since basically what happens is Karin likes mitsui, miyagi likes ayako, mitsui and ayako end up together… that's all… hehehe… anyways, I hope you continue to read!

**Kalyope Medina Burato**: thank you.. hehehe… well I guess it's pretty obvious that she doesn't, though you know miyagi doesn't know her inside out anyways, so it's easier to make assumptions that way… Jin has sources… hehehehe…

**Simmic**: yup… well, first tries don't always turn out so good, and I mean it's not like I'm only focusing on how miyagi doesn't want this or that, but Karin, Ayako and Mitsui also lost their nerves, so I think they all had a share on it's failure… yup, Jin still practices it, though it's not included that much since well, Karin can't keep on going to Kainan everyday… besides they usually see each other after school too… not really before school… your comment about Karin using Jin arouses my mind to think… in one way we are kinda "using" other people, but just the word using kinda has a negative connotation…. Plus with the using you mentioned, it's like a two-way street that makes it acceptable, unlike the real using… hehehe… anyway, this is longer…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

September 12, 1997. I woke up to the sound of my aunt's knocking on the door. "It's already 11:35 am! You just missed breakfast!" I didn't care about breakfast. I heard the keys on my doorknob, I heard it turn and just when I was about to close my eyes, my door opened and my aunt said in a normal voice, "Happy Birthday!" In her hands, she held a rectangular box, and I had an uneasy feeling of its hidden contents. She approached my bedside as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and my mind, and sat on my bed. "I figured you could use this." She handed the box over to me, and as I opened it, a new and good-looking, not to mention expensive-looking kimono was neatly folded. "You didn't have to do this." I knew we had bills to pay, and that she had gone to a lot of trouble to work two jobs at the same time, and I didn't want her to spend her money on something that's just what it is – a material thing. "Excuse me child, but where did your manners go? What have I taught you this past 18 years!" Subtract from that the years I spent with my original parents and it's not exactly eighteen years.

My father stopped sending money when I heard that he had remarried, and had begun another chapter in his life. He knew that my aunt had been taking good care of me, and that it was his turn to start life anew, and so I stayed with my aunt, and severed my relationship with him. I figured it was better that way.

"Well, hurry and take a bath, and then you can go the local shrine. And, I'll head to work okay?" The doorbell rang. "I'll get that. Go." She pulled me out of my bed and pushed me towards the bathroom.

I tightened the obi on my waist, and tied my hair in a bun, looking at myself on the mirror. Three knocks came upon my wooden door. My aunt let herself inside. "Someone's waiting for you downstairs." I took one last look in the mirror before I exited my room.

Jin was sitting on our couch. "Happy Birthday!" He greeted. Now that, I didn't know how he knew. "Ayako told me your birthday was today. In case you were wondering what we were talking about when you how should I say it, chanced to listen?" He was trying his best not to embarrass me. He held out his arm to me. "Let's go?"

My aunt elbowed me and I let him lead me outside to where a car was waiting. "You have a car?" He laughed, saying, "I stole it from my parents. I guess they'll have to take the train this morning." I was starting to worry. What if he's parents, "Don't worry, I have their permission. Plus my dad has one, so he can drive my mom to her office." I felt relieved. That sneaky Ayako had been the one to tell him. Was that all she had said? What else would she say anyways? What was I thinking she would say anyways? Enough of those thoughts, it's still too early in the morning for that. Scrap that, it's still in the middle of the day for such thinking.

We arrived at the local shrine, and after washing our hands, and then walking to the offering box to drop a few coins, I rang the bell that hung in front of it, and bowed extremely twice, my hands together, clapped twice, and bowed one more time before heading outside.

"We should probably go back to your house so you could change in more casual clothing since where were going doesn't really match with your kimono." I nodded my head, and when we arrived back home, I invited him to wait inside, though he insisted on waiting in the car, and I hurried myself inside, rushed to change into more comfortable clothing, and ran outside to meet him. "You didn't have to hurry." He said, laughing when he saw I was lightly gasping for air.

It became a long drive to the city of Yokosuka. Along the way, I just stared at the perfect day. It was sunny, though there were a lot of trees, at other times we cruised along the course of the beach, and the waters were sparkling.

When we arrived at the city, the only thing he told me was that we were going to have to park here, and start walking. "So that we won't miss anything worth seeing." He explained. We started to walk down the streets, when an old lady grabbed my hand, I nearly shrieked. "Would you like to have your fortune told?" She said is a creaky voice. "No, not really." Her curly hair was unkempt, and she spoke in a weird accent. I started to walk away when she said; "It's your birthday today isn't it?" That alone made me stop. Was it real or was it a trick? Did she say it to every person who stops by and that now it just happened that her statement was real? This is so confusing.

"Let me see your hand." I didn't want her to, but she grabbed my arm and started to trace the lines on my palm. "I see… you are having problems with your studies, and money too." She looked up at me for approval. "But today will be a good day for you, something red will be given to you, and I see something wide and blue too." I had enough of what she was talking about; I tried to pry my hand off her grasp. "Wait. I see something. Your feelings are rampaging around your heart." My hand refused to move from its spot. "You are confused, you cannot see clearly within this forest of emotions. Though it seems something is missing. You have locked out something – refused to listen to it, if I dare say, a new love? Perhaps?" As she grinned, I pulled my hand away, and felt that my cheeks were heating up. Was she saying the truth or was I fooled? Which one?

We slowly went on our way. "Is it still far?" Jin shook his head. "Not that far. Did she scare you?" I looked back at my palm, how could she see through me with these lines? "A bit." I replied. "It only depends on you if you want to believe what she said or not. A black cat walked right in front of me once and I still went on my way, nothing bad happened to me, because I didn't believe in it." But still, what she said had been true. I had been thinking the same things, for two weeks now.

As we passed by a park, there was a man selling balloons, and as he saw us passing by, he quickly made his way towards us and offered me a balloon - three red balloons. "I don't have money." Besides, why would I buy that? "It's a gift." He insisted. He didn't look like a balloon seller. Though he was a bit tall, he was also very fit. If I saw him in some other clothes I would've never guessed he sold balloons for a living. I accepted the balloons, and soon, we were on our way again. The first thing she had said about something red, was it a fluke? Was it planned? And the word he used, gift. What was that all about?

"It seems it's still far off." I commented. "Are you tired of walking?" I shook my head gently. "No, I was just wondering." The day was great, only if I didn't encounter two such weird people. "It's just after passing by the shrine." I nodded my head. We were near. There was a short monk that stood outside the shrine, and as we were passing by, he started to walk towards us. There was something that shone under the ray of the sun. Is that an earring? Since when did monks have piercings? As he noticed that I was staring at him, he backed away and ran inside the temple.

"Something wrong?" Jin asked. "Nothing," I said, diverting my attention from the so-called monk to look back at him. We walked down a road that was lined with cherry blossoms, though at this time of the year, the flowers were no longer seen on the branches. Maybe we could visit this again during the viewing season.

We chose the Arasaki course, and as we started to hike, I still didn't know where we were going. Maybe now's the right time to ask. "Where are we going?" He only stretched out his hand to mine, and started to walk, saying "Secret." To our right, there was a huge outcropping of rocks, which showed us a perfect view of the shoreline. It was late afternoon by that time, and it was starting to get dark, then I noticed that we seemed to be walking in circles. "Jin, do you know where're were going?" Jin turned to face me and smiled apologetically, the sun was starting to set. "I was hoping you'd be taken by the sunset and not notice that, well, I can't seem to admit it, but it's the truth." He's beating around the bush. "We're lost." He announced to me the obvious fact I had been thinking all along.

"I thought you were good at reading maps." He took out the map and laid it on the ground. "I was, though I let you lead the way since you liked the nature, and then we seemed to have gone out of course." I only have the map for this course." He folded it back and placed it in his backpack. "Here." He said, unzipping another pocket and taking out a ball of string. "Hold onto one end of this, and I'll hold to the other, stay here, admire the sunset while I find a way to get out."

And so I waited. I could not help but think of his safety. The sun had almost totally set, and yet he still hasn't returned. How am I supposed to enjoy the sunset when I'm worried about you? Maybe he also feels bad since it sort of spiralled down when we got lost. I should be patient, and I should wait. He said he would be back, so I have to take his word for it. He would be back. Definitely. Right? Who am I asking anyways?

Then it was then I felt a tug. Right. He told me when I feel a tug I should follow it. It means he's safe, right? He is. He should be. But – I was interrupted by another tug. I started to walk, then I jogged, then I ran a race against the last rays of the sun. I wanted to see him anyways, to see him safe. I saw a campfire in the distance. I seemed to be running towards it. I ran faster, hoping that was where he was waiting.

I saw four figures huddling around the fire. I saw Jin, and then the monk, the balloon seller, and the creepy fortuneteller. "What took you so long?" The fortune-teller complained. "We've been waiting for you." The balloon seller said, the multi-coloured balloons still in his hand. "So? You need a spell to snap you out of your confusion?" the monk said, though his voice was very familiar. "Miyagi?" He took off his hat, and there indeed he was. I looked to the fortune-teller. "Don't tell me it's you Ayako." She removed her fake teeth, and smiled. "Damn it, I did try to straighten my hair for your information, and I didn't like it." So the only one that must be left must be, "Mitsui you idiot!" I yelled, and he replied by taking a balloon from me and popped it in front of me, I screamed and ran towards Jin. "Karin you chic-KEN!" He cried as Ayako caught him off guard with another loud pop beside his ear. I supposed Mitsui would've done something, though Miyagi was sitting beside him, and histories like that are something hard to forget.

"So, Jin, is the yacht ready?" Mitsui asked, adverting the attention from him to Jin. "Yeah, it's waiting for us." We climbed down off the course, and made our way towards a yacht that was waiting for us, near the shore. Jin climbed up first, and stretched out his hand for me to hold, while Miyagi followed, and Mitsui and Ayako were next. We took a ride to Sakurajima Island, and Jin brought out the cake with 18 candles on it. I stared at the candles that were enough to cast a light at everyone's faces, made my wish, and took a deep breath, letting it all out in the direction of the candles. One blow was not enough, and I ended up doing two more.

We had our feast under the clear moon, when a shadow loomed over me and I heard another voice say, "It's her birthday not Halloween you immature teenager." It was my aunt. She was here? All of the closest people to me are here. Kiyota sat beside Miyagi and started to eat his share. "Anyways, Karin, there's a pile of clothing strewn all over the floor, and yet you complain of having nothing to wear?" I sighed; the scolding followed me all the way here. "It was true, though I'm letting it go since it is your birthday." She settled in between Mitsui and Ayako. "I trust you Ayako, but knowing this person here beside me I'm not too sure. Have you been decent Mitsui?" I sighed again, wanting to bury myself for the embarrassment.

When it got late, the same yacht took us back to the city, where I found that Jin had given Mitsui a spare key so that he could re-park the car just outside so we drove to a nearby hotel and booked 7 rooms.

I was just about to go to bed when I heard a knock on my door. "It's me." Jin made himself known. I opened the door. "What is it?" He handed me a photo album. "I asked Kiyota to follow us and take pictures for remembrance. I figured they were priceless anyways, except for the film." I accepted it, and then I bowed to him. "I'm sorry for making you go through all this trouble, it must've cost you a lot."

I kept my head bowed low, and when he took another step towards me, I felt his hand on my chin, straightening my posture. "Let me count the receipts first okay?" I blanched, while he laughed at me. "Don't worry, you're having too many things to worry about you forgot about the concept of joke already," he said, letting go. I stood up straight.

"Hey Jin, you still owe me 1000 yen for my expenses you know!" Kiyota emerged from the corridor, a calculator in one hand. "I thought you volunteered for it Kiyota?" Jin replied. "You sneaky bastard, fine." He went back inside his room.

"Well, I guess, it's good night then." He started to walk away, and I tightened my grip on the album. I ran inside my room, placed the album on my bedside table, and ran outside once again towards Jin's retreating figure. "Jin!" I stopped abruptly as he turned to face me. My palms clenched and unclenched. I could feel his arms surround me. I started to cry as I buried my head in his chest. His other hand enclosed around the back of my head, pulling me closer. "Why are you crying?" He asked. "Nothing, I just - forgot to thank you again." When I regained my composure, he held my face with both hands, and wiped away the remaining tears with his fingers.

I heard another door open, my aunt came out, and when she saw us, she spared another comment. "Kids nowadays," She muttered well above her normal voice, and I stepped away from Jin and as I caught her going back to her room, I felt myself blinking, as it had not been a frown but a smile that graced her lips.

Jin sighed. "What's up?" He placed both of his hands in his pockets. "You wouldn't believe it." I stood closer. "Come on, just say it." He scratched the back of his head. "I didn't get to practice my shots, for today." My eyes widened in surprise. "If only I brought a basketball." A ball rolled out from the corridor. Then I heard the scurrying of feet. Which of the four did it? Kiyota? Could be, he does always seem to pop out from nowhere. Mitsui? Probably. Ayako's influence on Mitsui could lead both of them to snoop around like this. Miyagi? Doubtful, but could be.

"Good night Ayako-san!" Jin picked up the ball. "Oh and by the way, thanks for lending me a basketball Mitsui-san." I ran towards him, and missed the two that disappeared from the elevator that just closed. "Let's go?" Jin asked, twisting the basketball in one finger, and then he caught it again, and held my hand.

We drove back to the park where the children once ran. Luckily, there was a basketball court nearby. I took my spot underneath the backboard, while Jin took his, just out of the three-point line. I kept on catching the basketball and bouncing it back to him, he would always catch it, and position himself for another successful three-pointer.

I saw my first sunrise of being a year older with him. There was nothing more beautiful than the light that broke through the darkest of hour. It reminded me that there are some things – some people in life that breaks through my darkest hour as well. I turned to face Jin and I found him asleep, his arms wrapped around the basketball like a blanket. I sat beside him and rested my head on his shoulder, he moved a bit, releasing one hand from the basketball to wrap around me, resting his cheek on my head. Maybe I'll take a little nap - just… a… little… nap.

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Um… that's all… I hope it's okay… well, jin isn't that selfish to just have her spend her birthday with him solely, hehehe… anyways… that's all…. I know it's like wow, jin's forgotten, but I'm trying to portray with the last parts that one part of Jin belongs to basketball, the other you know who it belongs to already… like I'm trying to find a balance… though it's hard since they both live in different places… this chapter goes on well with Shimokawa Mikuni's Sore ga Ai deshou, I think the title fits this story perfectly…. I have a metaphysics essay this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to update soon… though I'm pretty sure I can on weekends though… 


	14. Epiphany

**Disclaimer**: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Calliope Medina Erato**: hehehe… I kinda wanted Miyagi to be the obvious one… hehehe… thank you… well, kiyota's not too happy, but oh well… hehehe…

**Simmic**: thank you… hehehe… yup, oh and with my essay, I'm nervous… I was planning to do this mosaic thing alongside the essay, I didn't finish it… but I managed to finish the essay, but metaphysics was a wide topic to cover, so I don't know if I managed to somehow pull through… waaa… I'm scared… hehehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Hey Karin, why weren't we invited to your birthday?" Sakuragi said as he reached my seat. "I thought you were part of the gang, act like one dammit!" I thought I was expelled from the gang. Anyways, does that mean I'd have to dress and talk like one too? I couldn't even bring to imagine myself in such a situation even if I tried.

"I wasn't the one who organized the party," I tried my best to explain. "Then who did? I'll beat him up to pieces." Sakuragi must be joking, right? Well, for one he's not allowed to participate in fights because he's a basketball player, and two, I've never really seen him serious so I can't really tell if he'll break the rules.

"Jin." The guntai stopped cracking their knuckles to look at me. "So it was him." Sakuragi scratched his chin. "Let's go to Kainan." They can't be serious! And here I was telling the truth, were did I store my pack of lies again? Oh, I think I remember burning them not so long ago. "Hanamichi!" Yohei yelled, while all 4 of them tried to hold him down.

"Sakuragi, there's something that fell off from your bag." Takamiya distracted him, though it was only second in the agenda since something really fell from his bag. 'Do not read this aloud.' Was written on the envelope in bold letters. 'You are invited to Karin's surprise birthday party. Please come and meet me in front of the Kainan gate. If you're from Shohoku please meet Ayako in the basketball gym, bring a disguise.' Signed by, 'Jin'.

"So you were invited," I said trying to sneak a peek from Sakuragi's shoulder. He grabbed the piece of paper, read it again, and tore it to miniscule pieces. "So don't go around blaming anybody." I warned. Sakuragi cried in a corner. "And there I was, starving for the weekend, while you, and everybody else, ate." Don't use that on me. Why didn't I bury my conscience six feet below the ground again?

"Fine. Let's go to the canteen, my treat." The guntai had smiles that reached the heavens. "Each one is limited to one meal only, and only one. I'm on tight budget you know." Though in the end, they asked for a combo meal, which was still considered one order. Note to self: leave conscience at home.

During basketball practice, Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui visited yet again. Mitsui was having a conversation with Haruko along the sidelines, though when I walked to the bleachers, he pointed to me and said, "Ask her." He patted Haruko on the shoulder and headed back to court to train Toki Kuwata.

Haruko appeared to be too shy to approach me of the matter that I decided to come up to her and ask her myself. Rukawa chose that time to do a fade-away jump shot. Haruko was immediately distracted yet again. "Rukawa-kun's so good in basketball," She sighed dreamily.

"Yeah." I had to agree with her. His skills were exceptional for a first year. But he has some troubles within the sharing and passing department.

"Senpai," Haruko exclaimed. She hadn't noticed I had already been standing beside her. She looked down and began to fiddle with her fingers. "What –" She looked away, a blush forming on her face. "What would you do if you liked someone?" So is this what Mitsui said, 'ask her?" He is lazy when dealing with questions concerning the relationship area.

Well, as they say, if you don't know the answer, then answer it with another question. "What do you think you should do?" Haruko remained silent after that. I rephrased the question. "What do you think you should do, but are afraid to do it?" She lifted her head and stared at the court. "I don't know if I should tell him my feelings." It was like playing tennis, the ball had bounced to my side of the court, and it was up to me to return it to her side.

"Don't you think that when a part of you doubts, there's a good reason behind it?" I seem to be the one buying time for Sakuragi. Why am I personally avoiding the question anyways? Why does the thought of answering that question frighten me? What do I have to be afraid of anyway? A lot of things, I said.

"You're right." Haruko finally replied. Did she understand what I was trying to say or did she misinterpret it? I hope it's not the latter one or I will have to bear the blame and shame for not making things clear and concise.

How did I get into this mess again? Oh yeah, first, in order to save myself from paying the bill, I became the epiphany to Sakuragi and after that he asked for my advice and support, Mitsui passes Haruko's inquiry to me, I give another advice, I don't know what she's going to do, I may have boosted Sakuragi's hope on one hand, it might be false hope after all, I may have encouraged Haruko to confess in the other, Rukawa might not feel the same, Sakuragi might still have a chance, she might be hurt or enjoyed. This is utterly confusing.

I snuck out from the basketball gym and took a walk around the campus to catch a breath. There was a petite girl standing by the principal's office holding her violin case. It was Hagino Naru, I had not been mistaken. I wonder of the reason as to why she had paid our school a visit.

Hagino-san and the principal exchanged bows before she walked away. "Hagino-san!" I called out. She seemed to be glad that I had seen her. "Takahashi-san, it's been quite a while since we have seen each other." I nodded my head. "Yeah, it has been quite some time." She pulled out from her pocket four tickets.

"Here." I had figured four tickets had been too much. "One for you, Miyagi-san, Mitsui-san, and Ayako-san." I accepted the tickets and skimmed along the title of the event. The joy of being invited was completely wiped off from my face. "Farewell concert?" I questioned myself in disbelief. "Yes." She answered. "I've finally made a decision to start on composing musical scores. I believe a little bit of seclusion like Okinawa would do me some good. Lately my asthma has been getting worse."

There was something in my head that kept the information from sinking into my heart, and into acceptance. "But what about -?" She looked up to me to meet my gaze, with not a single clue as to whom I was referring to. "Yes?" She urged me to continue. I shook my head. "Just don't forget us when you're famous." She giggled and cradled her case in her arms. "I don't plan on anything like that. I just want to build my own school and teach all kinds of people how to play the violin."

"I see." I remembered the basketball practice and invited her to come. "Actually, I need to start packing now, and help clear out our house since we're selling it." She apologized, and I reassured her that it was fine with me, and I excused myself and returned to the gym.

It turned out that Miyagi had already dismissed them. When I found the players cleaning up the gym, I quickly ran to Ayako's table and left the two tickets with a note to explain, and dashed to Miyagi's locker. He was already there, packing up the last of his books and was about to leave when I called out his name. "What's up Karin?" I dug onto my bag for the ticket and handed it to him. "So this was what she was talking about." It was my turn to be lost in the present. "Oh, I passed by her on my way to my locker." He offered a brief explanation. He took the ticket from my outstretched hand and pocketed it.

"That's it Miyagi?" He looked at me, and this time it was his turn to be puzzled and clueless. "Is that it?" I repeated. "You're just going to let her go?" A smirk formed on Miyagi's lips. "Why don't we discuss this while walking to the bus stop? Agreed?" I couldn't figure why he had that grin plastered to his face.

Is he trying to say he didn't really like Hagino-san? But – ok, save the face plan A. If I'm right and he did like her, then I'm going to scold him for not doing anything, and well that means there's something other than that behind his smirk. Plan B, if I'm wrong, and he doesn't like her like I think he likes her, I'll have to pretend I meant it on a friendship level. I'm safe – for now.

"Are you coming?" Miyagi asked. He was ahead of me by a few paces. I jogged to catch up with him. "So answer my question." I pushed the issue further inside. We turned left on the corridor.

"Well, before I answer your question, let me ask you one." Ok, either he heard my conversation with Haruko, or this is what they call karma. I moved to my left to avoid a collision with a locker in the hallway. "If Jin wanted to pursue a career in professional basketball and he needed to go abroad and train, would you stop him?" That was my original question, re-questioned only with different ingredients along with a different cooking and serving style.

I was stumped. It was very possible that Jin would want to increase his skills, and play basketball both as a passion and as a source of living. I wouldn't want to eat my words later if it did really happen, I do have some pride built in me. "I-" We were getting closer and close to the gate. "If he wants to, who am I to stop him?" Miyagi smiled; clearly he got the better of me.

"There's my answer." I was disappointed. He had no originality. " I wouldn't want to hinder her from her dreams. I had to let her go. Besides, where she's going is still part of Japan. It's not impossible for me to reach her, so chill." I smiled and waved goodbye as we arrived on the bus stop, and his bus came right on time, and he left before my bus arrived.

At that time of solitude provided to me, I couldn't help but think back to the previous incident. It had suddenly opened my eyes, wide and clear. I knew that I couldn't bring myself to stop him, I would want to, but I wouldn't anyways. He has a separate life that he has to live, and if I prevented him from getting a shot at achieving his dreams, he might regret it, and that would hurt me the most. Not the fact that he left, not the fact that he was far from me, but the fact that I had been the cause of his misery. I knew it would really hurt me; it would hurt both of us. I forced myself to let go of that thought.

I grabbed my cellular phone and called my manager and excused myself, saying that the load of work had been piling up. I had a lot of late homework, missed homework, barely passing quizzes that I had to take a lot of days off from my work. I received another good scolding, before my manager agreed to grant me the day off. I sighed in relief and thanked him. My bus soon arrived, and carrying the heavy bag with me, I went straight to home, straight to my bedroom and went straight to do my homework. Though the earlier thought kept on clawing at me, I kept pushing it at the back of my head, till I could no longer concentrate at the task at hand. I collapsed right on my bed, and as my exhausted body longed for sleep, I gave it what it need.

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That's all for now… hmm… hope you have some suspicions going on… heheheh… next chapter kinda answers miyagi's question… or like jin answer's miyagi's question… that's all I have in mind right now… I have a theodicy essay this time… so yeah… see you next week… no jin and Karin, I know… but hey, it has to remain natural… hehe… kanagawa isn't really a small place you know… hehe.. hope you enjoyed it anyways… 


	15. Silver Lining

**Disclaimer**: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick**: hehehe… why is it complicated? Hehehe… anyways, yeah I do have a lot… one per week… for like 10 weeks I think… thank you….

**Kalyope Medina Burato**: thank you… well, sometimes I don't want other characters to be suddenly out of the picture.. gotta bring them back.. hehehe.. how outrageous could Sakuragi get? Only he knows, hehehe… Miyagi hiding something? Like what?

**Simmic**: hehehe… yeah, I thought that well, why wouldn't Sakuragi be invited? So I put that part… hmm… about the haruko part, haven't read the manga but only seen the anime… I don't even remember that part… but I guess that can't be helped… I didn't even know she told Sakuragi about Rukawa.. maybe I missed that episode, my grandma didn't allow me to watch anime either, she said it was for kids… well, whatever… hehehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Sir, you called?" I stood in front of the doorway to the manager's office. He motioned for me to enter and when I did he invited me to sit down on the chair in front of me.

From his drawer he pulled out a folder and started to flip over the pages. When he found what he had sought for, he placed a finger to rest as a bookmark and showed it to me.

"You have far too many absences." But some of them were reasonable! I sometimes suffered from sleep depravation and exhaustion that I would get sick on certain days, and at other times I excused myself since I was on the verge of losing my chance for scholarship. In fact, maybe I just became disqualified.

"I know you're busy and everything. But this restaurant has a different priority." He closed the folder and plopped it down on the tabletop. I could sense nothing good that could ever come out of this. "You should also know your priorities. If you want to earn a scholarship, concentrate on your studies." He was making sense and nonsense at the same time.

"What do you mean sir?" I did not prepare myself for what would come next. "I'm going to have to fire you Takahashi-san. Our restaurant needs responsible and regular workers. You're juggling two things at the same time, and that makes it for you hard to handle. I'm sorry." He gave me my last salary for the few days I worked for this month, and asked me to pack my things. I did, and left bitterly. I needed that money, I needed the education, and I needed both.

When I told my aunt about what had happened, she gave me a good knock in the head. "I was hoping you're manager would say that." I furrowed my brow in frustration. This was serious. I was. "You should be studying you know, not working. There's plenty of work for you after you finish school." She took out some papers and started rummaging over them.

"We'll just have to sell the house and move to a smaller apartment." I grabbed both of her shoulders and looked her in the eye. She was dead serious. "No, you can't do that." She shoved my hands away. "You can't let your emotions interfere Karin. Either this or we spiral down to bankruptcy." I rested my head on the sofa. "But –" I knew our needs had to be met first. They had to. "It's your house. Do whatever you want with it." I slowly got up and walked back to my room, plopping down my bed, not even bothering to close the door behind my steps.

I didn't know our situation was this serious. I worked to pay for my school fees and everything concerned with it, for the food that I cooked for both of us, for transportation, for myself. I thought if I did that, I wouldn't burden her. Yet despite what I did, I still was.

I needed some ideas. Mitsui volunteered to lend me money, Ayako thought a loan would be better, the Sakuragi-guntai opted for gambling and hope to win big, Tetsuo said he could share some of the loot with me, Haruko told me I needed to get another job, and Miyagi had no idea.

I dialled for the second time Jin's home phone number. Maybe he has some solution to the ideas they presented. I heard it ring twice before somebody picked up. "Good evening, Jin residence." I asked for Souichiro Jin and I mentally sighed in relief when she told me to wait and heard her call his name.

I was hoping for Jin's voice to come across as the phone was picked up, but I found out it was the same voice that greeted me earlier. "I'm sorry, he's at work right now, I'll immediately connect you to his cellphone." I quickly replied, saying, "No, it's ok, there's no need to do that." There was only silence on the other line. "Hello? Hello?" I didn't want to believe that the connection process had started. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Jin's voice came through from the other line. "It's me." I replied. "Oh hi Karin." Hi Karin? No 'I'm at work right now' explanation? "How are you?" Did he have to ask about that? "Um, about that, I need to ask you about something." I promise it'll be quick. "Is there some wrong?" He asked, concern not missing from his tone.

I replayed all the suggestions in my head, brushed through what had happened, and waited for the sound of his voice after all I said. "Well, there's a vacancy at where I work." He suggested. "I can help you get in." I felt like thanking him already. "Plus, it's not really packed, so you'll have lots of free time." I found that useful for doing my homework. It was like an advertisement. And I was getting lured to and into it. "Ok, can you get me an application form?" Please? I heard him say, "Yeah, no problem." It was then that I remembered that he was still at work. "Isn't you manager angry by now?" From him came a laugh. "No, we just had our break."

Well, since he's on break, I might as well move on to my next problem: school. "Well, what subjects are you having trouble in?" I could've come up with a couple of real troublemakers, but I ranked them and ended up with one. My worst subject: History. With history, I skipped the way and immediately waved the white flag. "It's just that, dates, places, events, conventions, treaties, names, geography…" My head was already swirling just thinking about it. "It's too much to take in and remember."

I heard another faint laugh come through. "Just read ahead of time, underline the important words, and when you're drowsy, there's a lot of coffee by your side." I laughed bitterly. This was definitely one of those times where your sad face has reached a dead end, and there was none more to spare you had no choice but to laugh instead. "Jin!" I whined. "Seriously, just read ahead of time so when the teacher starts to discuss the topic you'll have more of a grip. While reading have a map beside you, geography plays importance especially if you want to know why a certain country has colonized another, it may be useful for military strategies, or trade, you know. With the names, know their connection and their job, and when you don't understand I'm here to help ok?" He's right. If my application gets accepted and I'm hired, I'll be his co-worker. I blushed at my stupidity.

"Oh yeah," He broke of my current train of thought. "Can you come by this Friday? So that I could teach you how's of coffee making. They usually test applicants on those." Brewing coffee, such an enticing smell. "Sure."

"So, I must've disturbed you more than enough by now, thanks again, and –" I was supposed to end my closing sentence with a goodbye before Jin interrupted me, saying, "Are you busy?" I looked at the pile of papers strewn all over my study table, becoming a blanket to the books that lay hidden. "Yeah." I wanted to say no, but I knew that I would have to suffer the repercussions later if I did so. "I see, well –" I supposed he was about to end this conversation when I followed in his footsteps and interrupted him instead, saying. "What is it?" I was too lazy to do homework anyways. I reasoned with myself. 'Sure.' It replied twice as sarcastically.

"It's not that important ok?" I didn't mind if it was important or unimportant. I didn't care if it was either of the two. I just disliked the idea of putting this phone down. "I want to know." I heard a sigh, followed by quiet laughter. "I just wanted to ask you how the rest of your day went."

"The usual." Though I didn't stop at that. I told him briefly about the incident with Sakuragi, left out the part with Haruko, informed him of Hagino's farewell concert but not the one that dealt with Miyagi, he told me he'd come, and that's when I heard a voice yelling in the background. "Is everything all right?"

I heard another laugh. It was a split between nervous and guilt-stricken. "My boss just discovered me. I need to go before he comes back. He really has a loud voice."

I wanted to say I'm sorry – for everything. For calling at the wrong time, for not excusing myself right away after you answered, for talking too much, for insisting to tell me what you wanted to ask, for talking too much for the second time. "Ok, see you Friday, ok? Ok!"

"Bye!" I replied hastily. He said his farewell twice as fast as me. There was another series of yelling before we became disconnected. It's entirely my fault, and I admit it.

It's Friday tomorrow, at the very least. It managed to lift my hopes up before they crashed and fell on top of one another. I forced myself to open my eyes to the load that was waiting for me to transform into work. I sighed, took my pen, sat up straight though that didn't help, and opened the book's pages.

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That's all… hehehe… kinda unpredictable the way that I submit my chapters… hehehe… just wanted to ask of what you think with the pace that I am going with this story… anyways, next chapter aside from the obvious, is the answer to Miyagi's sort of what if question to Karin… hehehe… it'll be good.. hehehe.. anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter… 


	16. Choices

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick:** the blurness… hehehe… something's up so it won't be too happy for Karin… hehe

**Kazemar-kaemi:** hehehe… thanks for reviewing "do you see me" too… hehe… thank you, and well hope you like this chapter too…

**Kalyope Medina Burato:** hehehe… thanks for the correction… in the website that I took it from, I will not divulge it's name by the way, hehehehe… I found it weird when they wrote souichiro jin, instead of the other way around, and everybody else's name had been right, so I trusted them and went with that… hehehe…

**Simmic:** actually, not really.. hehehehe… I have twists in every turn! Hehehe.. and she didn't tell everybody she has bad grades, she only told them she's experiencing difficulty with money.. she's not that vulgar… hehehehe… anyways, in this chapter you'll find out what I mean by actually, not really… hehehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

Jin was waiting in front of the Shohoku gate, surrounded by the Sakuragi and his guntai, Jin mumbling a few words that fired Sakuragi's anger meter to the top. When Nobunaga arrived, Sakuragi's fingers found itself encircling Nobunaga's neck by itself, and though the guntai tried with all their might to pull away Sakuragi's locked hands, it only looked like they were only helping him choke the life out of Nobunaga.

The minute I arrived, I yelled, "I'm telling Sakuragi!" and started to walk back in the direction of the Shohoku school building, when Sakuragi immediately let Nobunaga's neck go and overtook me, blocking my way. "Please don't tell coach! Please!" I stopped and, "hmmm…" His hands were joined together in prayer, and I could visibly see the sweat trickle down his forehead. "Just this once." He let out the breath he had been holding and returned to his usual jovial self, laughing.

Nobunaga massaged the muscles in his neck, scolding Jin. "Why'd you have to sell me out like that?" He wouldn't engage in the battle with Sakuragi though he held himself back. "Unlike you, I'm the real genius, so be glad I didn't pick a fight with you." A vein popped on Sakuragi's forehead. "I'll show you my true strength on the court, not on the sidewalk." Sakuragi strained from the firm grip the rest of the gang had on him.

"See you tomorrow guys!" I waved to the gang as we walked to the bus stop. Nobunaga was still whining about Sakuragi's act of aggression against him.

We rode the bus and when we arrived at the train station Nobunaga was still complaining. "He's not even good at basketball, doesn't he foul out for most of his games? And he shoots free-throws in this weird way." I looked at Jin and saw his mouth forming a frown, as my eyebrow continually rose and fell at Nobunaga's irritating complaints.

"He doesn't even score that much, all he's ever good is in rebounds." We stopped by a hardware store and Jin walked inside. He was back in little more than a minute or so, and opened the plastic bag, sticking two earplugs in both of my ears, dissipating the annoying sound coming from Nobunaga - at last, peace.

Jin did the same to himself and sighed. He must've been relieved. Nobunaga's mouth kept on blabbing though I didn't really care, it possible went like, 'Rukawa's just a show-off, he won't last long, while I am a genius unlike that fake who tries to copy my coolness,' something along those lines.

We finally arrived at Jin's workplace and he showed me inside the counter, leaving Kiyota behind who didn't really care either since he was doing small talk with the cashier at the counter.

"Ok, how many would you like to learn?" I counted my fingers; I might make a scramble egg of bad coffee if I decided to do ten. I held up my palm and spread three fingers. "Three." He showed me a list and asks me to pick three. I pointed my finger to Café con panna, and he picked up a pen and paper started to list down, I moved to Café freddo, Café Frappuccino, and Café Corretto. I had chosen four, however, Jin's eyebrow rose with my last pick. "Are you sure you'd like to learn that?" I didn't know; I just picked them without any background knowledge. "It has a shot liquor added to it."

"Scrap that then." I laughed, I really have no clue with this, I just have to hope that I don't get fired on the first day. He showed me the burr grinder, and how to determine what size of coffee bean to use, and warned me not to grind the beans too fine or too coarse. He also told me the ratio of coffee bean to ounces of water, and the temperature and appropriate time to brew the coffee for it's different types.

I taste tested the coffee I had brewed. "Good!" I began to pour another cup for me and offered one to Jin too. Nobunaga appeared and snatched a cup. "Not bad." I continued to drink, and drink, and drink, until even Jin told me to stop. "Hey, how about this Jin? How do you make it?" By the minute he was getting reluctant, and finally I noticed that my fingers were tingling a bit.

The realization hit me fair and square on the face. I may have drunk too much. "Hey Jin! So when's the next match? Toki Kuwata's been practicing real hard, he'll defeat you soon enough, are you scared? I didn't think so, you always seem to be confident in basketball, why do you practice so much? You're so good, let the other one's catch up, hey jin are you even listening? What are you doing? Are you preparing another coffee? I wanna drink it! Is it good? It should be good cause –" Jin rested both of his hands on my shoulder and ushered me to a sit.

"I feel so awake, like I can run a marathon. Let's run a marathon! Wait I don't have a huge stamina, maybe I could walk then, right Jin? Where did that Nobunaga go? He's going to miss the coffee drink, I can't wait, I can't wait, I-" Jin lowered his face, saying, "Karin, you've drank too much, just calm down ok?"

I smiled and nodded my head furiously. "Of course I'm calm! Why wouldn't I be? Why did you think that? The one who isn't calm is you, being hyper is good!" Jin put a hand on my head to stop it from looking left and right. "Karin, look at me –"

"I'm looking at you, how long do you want me to look? Isn't it rude to stare?" Jin cut me off with a "ssshhh." I pouted. "Why are you saying ssshhh? What's wrong with me babbling on? Am I irritating you? Am I?" Jin covered my mouth with one hand. "Karin, just focus for one minute ok? We're going to do breathing exercises to relax you ok?" I nodded my head like a child who was eating a lollipop. "Inhale…" I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with air. "Exhale…" I exhaled slowly letting it out little by little. "Inhale…" I took another lungful of air, and let it slowly go when Jin said 'exhale'.

He poured me a glass of water and set it on the table in front of me. "Here. Drink lots of it." I held the glass with both hands, and drank little amounts of it. I drank more and more, though it didn't seem to help, Jin told me to keep repeating the breathing exercises.

Nobunaga appeared with another cup of espresso though he appeared normal to me. "What's with her?" Nobunaga said watching me try to control my breathing and rapid heart rate, like I was practicing yoga. "Too much coffee." Jin explained for me. I bit my lip to cease my urge to talk.

"Hey Jin, so did you get a form already?" My left ear started to itch for the latest gossip. Guess I wasn't cured yet. "For what?" Nobunaga almost spewed the espresso he had been drinking. "What do you mean for what? For the basketball course for college that's what!" Jin shook his head. "You didn't!" Nobunaga seemed to be in disbelief. He set his cup on the table.

I began to relax little by little, and listened more closely. "Well at least I took one for you too." He took out from his pocket a crumpled application form. "Sorry." Nobunaga apologized. Jin tried to straighten the paper out. "It's due this Monday."

Jin stared at the paper. "That soon?" Nobunaga's hand formed into a fist and he hit Jin on the back of the head. "What's this all about? I've known you since first year and you were the one who encouraged me to apply, and now you're complaining it's too soon? Are you really a basketball player?"

Jin poured another glass of water for me. I started to drink it. "It's just that, this is my future. It's not just some silly dream I had when I was young. This is really going to affect my life, and I just can't hand it over that easily. You have to think through these big decisions Kiyota, not just breeze over them or let you emotions decide for you." Nobunaga was driven into silence. I finished another glass and moved on to pour another one for me.

Nobunaga smirked. "I know what this is about." Jin was writing his name on the application form. "Huh?" I was stuffed with water, like I had eaten a whole full meal. "I know you're smart so don't play your stupid mind games with me. You follow?" Jin only nodded his head. "Well, we shouldn't really argue in front of Karin."

Nobunaga sighed, as if to exhale all his anger out. "You really shouldn't have drunk to much." Nobunaga told me. "Your mouth sounded like a machine gun back there." I blushed in embarrassment. I swore never to drink coffee again. Though I probably won't be able to keep that promise.

After I had settled down, Jin apologized again for not stopping me from drinking too much coffee. "Nah, it's okay, it's my fault since I was the one who drank too much."

"Let's go." Nobunaga called after he had excused himself from the cashier. We rode the train, which had still been full, though that enabled me to stay close to Jin. I had already filled out the application form for the job and was excited to bring the good news to my aunt.

"Jin, this way." Nobunaga pointed after we had gone out of the train. When Nobunaga saw me, he ran a hand through his hair and followed close behind. We rode the bus home though I was still very awake, though I no longer felt the need to bombard Jin with my random talking.

In fact, I was exhausted. "Tired from too much rambling?" Jin asked. I sighed again, and nodded once. I was more or least back to normal. This was the only time my brain worked to think about Jin applying for that college course. So he was planning on going professional. I didn't want to be a burden – the burden.

We dismounted the bus and started to walk home. It was silent, yet loud with the sound of crickets. "You should apply for that college thing." I said out of the blue. Jin blinked once before looking at me. "You think?" He asked. I crossed my arms then smiled. "Yup! I'm positive."

"How about me?" Nobunaga pointed to himself. "No, you're no good." Nobunaga was just about to jump at me when Jin prevented him from crushing me. "Kiyota, calm down." Nobunaga struggled, and it seemed as if Jin wouldn't be able to hold him any longer. "Let me at her, I know she's a girl, but she's too much!"

I started to walk faster to get away from Kiyota. Kiyota tried to overtake me, though his speed had been exponentially reduced since Jin was hanging on like a piece of boulder on his back. "We're home." I announced. Once I had gotten through the gate, Jin let go of Kiyota. "Open it!"

"Shhh… the neighbours will get angry because of your behaviour." I bowed once again to Jin. "Thank you for all your help. I'll remember not to drink too much coffee." He smiled and waved me goodbye. "Let's go Kiyota." Jin pulled him by the arm. "I'll have revenge!"

I didn't care. I was playing along with his game. It enabled me to reach home without shedding a single drop of tear. I guess I had grown stronger all these years. I took my time in reaching the door, and then slowly inserted the key into the keyhole.

I remembered what Miyagi said to me. 'I don't want to hinder her from her dreams…' it kept on whispering. I too, didn't want to hinder him from his dreams.

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That's all… lalalala… anyways, hmm… the issue with Jin… don't know when I'll be able to update… you already know the reason why… anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter… and I didn't mean if you liked the issue Jin is faced with… you know na… 


	17. Crossing

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick:** hehehe… thanks! Well, yeah, miyagi kinda figured that one out… hehehe

**Kalyope Medina Burato:** really… hehehe… fairly odd parents? Heard of that show, watched a few episodes, but not the one they got hyper with coffee… hehehe, its just that I wanted a funny scene of her being hyper… hehehe… kinda contrasts with what is about to happen with all the applying stuff…

**Simmic: **hehehe, actually, I don't know… it may be different for other people… once I drank coffee, it was like only one, but after that, I really really wanted to sleep… hehehe… I was like at trying to keep myself awake rather than having temporary insomnia… anyways, I portrayed her situation as her being hyper, cause it's fun, but I do based this actions on the little research I did… I found out that there's this chemical, that well increases heart rate, and like almost as if you've been given a shot of adrenalin or something, or make you feel restless… well I guess it'll work if you need to study, but at the moment, she's doing nothing, and so this kinda stored energy gets released through talking… hehehe… I actually had a classmate who got drunk because she didn't know that the punch had some liquor added to it… and she's like, hmm… it tastes good, and she drank so much… but she wasn't like that… she was more like asking every one to dance with her, and she couldn't even stand up straight… I think when you're drunk and you can't handle it, it makes you do more reckless things than just being hyper and talkative… anyways, we're the same, haven't indulged myself in a lot of coffee, or drink liquor, cause I don't like the bitter taste, hehe…

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**A/N:** I know this might be wrong, but I placed the location of Miuradai in Kamakura… if it was ever mentioned in the manga, please correct me and I will immediately correct it… thanks…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

"Guess what?" I was getting excited that I had just applied at the coffee shop, and just now I received a call that I could have my interview this coming Saturday. I was getting ready for the big reveal. "What?" My aunt asked coming from the kitchen. "I'm having my job interview this Saturday!"

My aunt walked towards me and gave me a blow to the head. "You're not going to that job interview. Besides, we're transferring to Kamakura this coming Monday. Start packing your things."

We were transferring this Monday. She didn't want me to work. "Why?" I couldn't help but ask. "Concentrate on your studies, I've already found someone who's interested in buying the house, we're moving, oh, and I've already discharged you from school." It pierced me with a coldness that seeped right into my bones. I was leaving Shohoku. And to think I'll be graduating this year too.

"I've already enrolled you to Miuradai High School." My aunt left me standing in the living room while she headed upstairs. I didn't even have the time to properly say goodbye. And here I was thinking of Shohoku as my second home, I guess happiness is short-lived.

I went back inside my room to pack my things. After all, it's already Saturday and most of our possessions weren't packed yet. I stopped folding my clothing and picked up the phone. I called Ayako.

"What? You're leaving? When?" I knew that it was an unexpected occurrence since I had been going to Shohoku for almost three years now, the straight only to be broken. "Hang on, we'll have a three-way with Mitsui."

I waited until I heard the phone ring. "Are you there Karin?" After I replied yes, Mitsui picked up. "Hello?" Ayako wasted no time in greeting him and immediately sent forth to the latest news. "Karin's leaving!" She exclaimed in a voice that even I had to move my ear away from the earpiece for a bit.

"I already knew." Well that was new. My aunt called his parents, his parents told him, go figure. "Look, I'll hook us up with Miyagi." Before I could even protest, Ayako momentarily disappeared before her voice reappeared after the first ring. "Miyagi? That you?"

Her question was answered by a yawn instead. "Yeah, it's me." We went to the routine of informing him of my departure and once again there was another commotion of what's, when's and where's. "We better call Jin too," Ayako suggested. Just what I was going to do, I almost said. Mitsui's cough overcame her voice.

"You all right?" She asked, obviously concerned for his well-being. "Oh I just choked on my chips." There was silence for a few moments, when Ayako finally got the message. "Well, you'll visit us tomorrow, right Karin?" I couldn't say no. I couldn't risk a yes and then at the last minute change it to no. "Well, anyways, mom's nagging at me to put down the phone, so yeah, see you guys tomorrow! Well, good luck Karin." The line went dead.

I still held the phone in my hand, wanting to call Jin, when I heard my aunt yell from the kitchen, "Karin! Help me will you!" I placed the phone as it perfectly joined with its receiver, and ran downstairs. I quickly got some boxes and placed our kitchen utensils inside. I grabbed for the pots, the rice cooker, the toaster, the microwave, and all the appliances that I could fit in it. Then came the delicate job of wrapping the plates, and glasses. "I'll finish up here, go to the living room."

I did, and found myself, packing carefully the picture frames, and paintings on the walls, I saw the telephone on the side table, and kneeled beside it. I stretched out my hand to hold it, though I recoiled and ran upstairs to my room instead.

I sat on the floor, my back leaning against my bed, my cordless phone in hand. I proceeded to dial Jin's number. I listened as the first ring rang, waited and heard the second, hung around for the third, and on the edge of the fourth someone picked up. "Hello?" It was Jin who answered the phone. "He-llo" I struggled as if I didn't know why I called. "I just called to tell you that we're transferring to Kamakura." I forced a laugh. "Which school will you be transferring in?" He sounded interested. "Miuradai-" I almost spat with hatred, I guess school spirit still resides in me. "They're good –" Jin replied, sounding as if he knew what he was talking about until he added, "I guess."

Quite to be expected. They weren't put in the same block as we were in during last year's preliminary games. "Though I heard that Shohoku won during your game with them." Damn right we did, and I'm proud of it. "Well, good luck then on your new school, by the way, are you still up for the job interview?"

Good question, but you didn't have to remind of the predicament I put myself in. "About that, my aunt sort of forbade me to work. I'll be sure to come though sometime next week to properly apologize."

"Don't worry too much about it. Did you start packing now?" I looked at the newspapers loitering the floor, and at the boxes that lay half-filled, half-empty around me. "Yeah." I grabbed a photo album and started to flip over its contents. "I guess you've got a lot of work to do. Look out your window." I stopped for a while to recall what he had just said. "Look out the window." He repeated.

I walked to the glass-paned window and pulled back it's curtains. My gaze met the balconies and rooftops of other houses. "Down." There was a black car parked on the other side of the street. The passenger back seat door on its back opened and out came Ayako followed by Mitsui. On it's right Miyagi came into sight. Not too late after did Kiyota came into view from the front passenger seat. And out of the driver's seat came Jin, holding his cellular phone to his ear.

They crossed the street to our house, opening the gate, and as I guessed, standing in front of the doorway where I could not see them. "Aren't you going to let us in?" He said. I placed the phone down and ran downstairs to meet them.

As soon as I opened it, Ayako immediately drew forward to embrace me, tightly. "I can't believe you're leaving! I mean, how long have we been both classmates and schoolmates? We didn't go to the same Junior High, but that doesn't matter right now!" I too wonder, how long has it been?

"Visitors?" My aunt wiped the sweat off her brow as she approached my friends. "The more hands we have, the faster we can get this done." We immediately set out to work, only stopping when we had to eat. I could see that the food was well enjoyed, since we came from the workout of packing, and after that, a quick rest, not too long so that we wouldn't fall asleep, and it was back to packing again. We finished late into the evening, and as I watched them try to relieve their muscles, with one glance at the clock, they immediately excused themselves, and almost hurried though reluctant, to leave.

They piled themselves on the doorway, and bowing once, they left in the direction of the car. It had been a short yet long goodbye. I succeeded in sleeping that night. The exhaustion pushed me to it. And on the morning, as the truck arrived to pick up our things, and as we ourselves, exited through the door, I locked it behind me, and as I held the doorknob in my hand, I pulled it slowly, closing it fully, hearing the unalterable sound of the door confirming that it was now locked and closed, so I walked away from it.

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Haven't been able to review for a while, internet connection went down on me, it was not an easy ordeal, but I managed to survive almost 2 weeks without it… hehehehe… anyways, more surprises to come… hehehehe… 


	18. Metamorphosis

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Kalyope Medina Burato**: hehehe… exactly… well it is sad, but that's life, they didn't really have any money, so her aunt did what had to be done… anyways, hmm… it's still going to spiral down..

**Simmic**: hehehehe… thank you… I'm glad you can find warmth in their relationship… hehehe… and sorry about that, I had been struggling in choosing aiwa or another school, but then again I thought to myself, I didn't want her to be a girl who goes to school to the best team in Kanagawa, (I think) since they beat shohoku, so I transferred her to Miuradai, and well I did place it on Kamakura, which I thought was in Kanagawa prefecture, though I have this feeling it's not, argh… anyways, I'll look up another place… hehehe…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

I sat on my bed, combing out my wet hair. I could see the side of my face being reflected on the mirror that rested on the table, and could feel the sadness being reflected along with my face. Beside me, my new uniform had been laid out, ironed and pressed straight, and as I was brought to reality by the ticking of the clock, I slowly lifted it above my head.

The uniform did not suit me, I guess because it was the first time that I wore it. And here I was, staring at myself in front of the full-length mirror, gazing into the glass as if I could suddenly make it change, distort it's image, reform myself, that somehow, I wouldn't see this uniform and instead see myself wearing what I was accustomed to, and remind me that I was still going to Shohoku. But all that's changed now.

I could hear the clock ticking again, and one glance at it made me rush to pick up my backpack, run to the kitchen, the usual stairs already gone, and on the table I picked up a pre-made sandwich for lunch. I stuffed it inside my bag, and another fleeting look at the watch reminded me that I had dozed off again, and quickly grabbing the keys, I stepped out of this dwelling.

The familiar houses did not greet me; instead they were filled with strangers. They weren't friendly or unfriendly, though they had one thing in common: I didn't know them, nor did they know me.

I walked to the new bus stop, much farther away from the apartment, than the one that stood near our house, and waited amongst the other students as the sun rose differently that what I had grown accustomed to see.

The bus arrived almost right on time, and as we took it's steps, and tried to catch a seat, it moved along with ease, and once again, I couldn't identify any of my neighbours, not that I knew a single one. There was not one who looked vaguely familiar, not one who recognized me with a smile.

The school loomed right before me, all its students walking, running, jogging past. The trees were tall, and its leaves swaying were inviting, as if ushering me to walk inside. My steps soon followed the rest, and I found myself crossing the school gates, reaching the building, entering a world I had not yet seen.

It was instant. I didn't know anybody, and nobody knew me. They weren't aware that there was a new student that there was a new piece added to the puzzle that didn't seem to have a corner to fit in.

In my search of the principal's office, I passed by the gym, seeing for the first time what I would soon be calling, my team. I overheard them conversing amongst themselves, and as I passed by, I could not help but recognize the name Shohoku uttered from their lips, and the match that followed with it, all to take place in three weeks.

"Shohoku will win for sure." I mumbled to myself, which was meant to be only for my own hearing, though it seems as if they too possessed sharp ears. "You better watch your mouth." Here I am, on the first day of school, already gaining some potential enemies, how welcomed and secured do I feel. I quickened my steps, my heartbeat pounding itself against the walls of my chest.

I entered the classroom, re-setting my schedule to meet the principal after school. I had been lucky as the teacher followed behind me. I found myself a seat, which didn't seem to be taken, right on the front of the row, beside the door. The teacher entered right after me, and as the class stood up the greet him, I stood up with them, bowed, and took my seat.

The first few minutes right after that were spent in taking the attendance, though it seems he missed my name. I quickly raised my hand. "Sir, you forgot to call me." He asked for my name, and I replied, "Takahashi sir." He scanned his list, going up and down, though I was sure it was arranged in alphabetical order until he looked up from his sheet to inform me that my name was missing.

I stood once again, took my bag, and approached him. "Who's supposed to be your teacher?" I looked at the schedule that was given to me, and uttered my teacher's name. "Mr. Minami." I could hear a chuckle from behind. I would've looked, if for not the teacher's smile. "I'm Mr. Senada. Your class is the class next to this one." I could feel my face heat up, up to my forehead, and as I bowed my head low, apologized and excused myself, I only felt the heat grow stronger as my classmates turned their heads and watch me walk away.

I now stood in front of my real classroom, the teacher apparently notifying the class of an important announcement, though I could not bring myself to concentrate on what he was saying due to the previous incident. I knocked twice after I was sure he was done, and when he motioned for me to come inside, I apologized for being late. He waved it away, and turned to the class, introducing me, though I wish he had not said where I came from.

Basketball fanatics would not like the fact that last year, Shohoku had defeated them. Some people bear grudges, and some grudges run deep. My seat had been on the second row, beside the window, and I was glad that nobody had taken out their anger on me, as of yet. Though what followed next I found both interesting and annoying.

"I heard that our team is going to face Shohoku in three weeks, are you coming, Kana?" My ears perked up, and though I did not turn to face them, my ears strained for a better resonance. "I heard that the new girl came from Shohoku." Their tone changed to whispers I could barely hear their voices I thought I heard the wind rushing past my ears.

A figure appeared before me. "Excuse me, you're from Shohoku right?" That was already determined. "Do you by any chance, know of Mitsui Hisashi?" That came unexpected and uninvited. "Why?" I answered. The girl standing beside her pushed her out of focus. "I'm Yoyogi Kana. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yoyogi Kana. I was holding him as his tears flowed freely, and as mine had no strength to show it, I could only keep him close, I could only be beside him though I could relieve him of his pain. 'I liked her Karin, very much.' And at that time it tore my heart. Yoyogi Kana had been her name. And right now, Yoyogi Kana stood right before me, trying to be friendly.

"Yoyogi-san, I'm going to ask you to leave Mitsui-san alone." I stood up, my height levelled with hers, while she firmly pressed her feet to the ground. "And who are you to tell me that? Are you his girlfriend?" I was getting an impression of whom Yoyogi Kana truly was. "No." I replied flatly. "Then don't tell me to stay away from him, you're not a relative, nor a special someone, so who are you to tell me off?"

Our voices were still kept down. The class talked and walked about as if they could not hear the problem boiling inside the pot. "He already has a girlfriend, and their happy with each other, so don't try to force yourself into their relationship." I did not take any second roads to reach my goal, though instead I took the shortcut and wasted no time in informing her that it was her who was wasting her time.

"I wasn't off to see Mitsui." She said with a matching laugh. "My friend here's the one who wants to meet him." Indeed, her friend whose cheeks were on fire, tried to restrain the flames with her palms pressed against the burning skin. "I was thinking more on the lines of Rukawa." Well, it seems her luck has run out.

"Fortunately, I'm not a friend of his." Not that I did not want to be friends with Rukawa-kun in the first place, but that at least she could stop pretending to even remotely be good to me. Nor would Rukawa fall for her when he finds a girl's presence annoying. The lines started to form across her forehead, and I could feel her hand struggling from its grasp, and she walked away without another word and settled back to her seat, all in time for our next class.

The rest of the day passed by peacefully. It was filled with the teacher's voices, with hands hastening to scribble down notes, the examining of books unveiling more information to be inputted into our brains.

The next day and the day that followed after that passed in an ordinary fashion, I woke up at six in the morning, rode the bus at fifteen minutes to seven and arrived just in time for the morning bell to ring. There was nothing new to do except to provide answers to homework question, ace more quizzes, complete more projects, all that school was composed of.

The week past by, and I found myself settling into the normal surroundings of the community. I passed by Miuradai's basketball team after school on the afternoon of that Friday and briefly stood outside the door and watched as they practiced with purpose. Before going home, I even wished them good luck.

Here, at three weeks, here I was, sitting on a chair in front of my table, a pen in one hand, the other lying on top of a book trying to hold it's page down, my fingers poised just above the paper, and my eyes focusing on the letters that would soon form words, sentences, interpreted by my mind as useful information.

At the time, I was probably deep, lost in my thoughts that I did not hear the first ring of the phone that occupied the table my elbows were leaning on. As it rang once more, I only stared at it. It disappeared for a moment, and reappeared in the voice of my aunt, calling me. "It's for you," She said.

I placed the pen I had been holding on top of the page, and turned my attention to the phone. "Hello?" There were shouts coming from everywhere, from voices I had never heard before. "Karin? Where are you?" Ayako yelled to my ears. "At home," I replied casually. My thoughts kept drifting back to the question on the book. I knew it had to be done. My teacher recently called for me and informed me that my grades had been steadily improving, climbing to its previous glory. He knew it was still within my reach. I still had the time to undo whatever I undid during my time at Shohoku.

"Karin? Are you still there?" Ayako's voice interrupted me. "The game's about to start, what are you doing at home?" I sat back down the chair I had sat in for the last few hours before night dawned in. "Studying. I'll be taking an important exam this Monday to see if I could qualify for the scholarships." The cheers for both teams only seemed to get louder. "Is that so? Well, it's okay. It's just the preliminaries. You'll go to the major ones won't you?"

"I'll try." I didn't say I would go, and when that word expects of to try, though not really expected to go through. "Well, you're greatly missed. Ah! The game's starting now, I have to go, talk to you later Karin!" As the shouts enveloped the last few seconds of our conversations, I muttered a "sure", trailed after by a "goodbye".

I rested my head on the page I had specifically book-marked with my pen. Recently, my life's been consumed by studying. It's not like I enjoy it so much it's become my hobby, but it somehow became my way of life. Is it the school? Is it the people? Is it me? Or is it necessity? I'll be graduating in a few months, and my aim to get a scholarship is somewhat ambitious, but I will never find out until I actually go for it. My teacher told me that getting good grades did not entirely depend on whether you were just smart, but if you coupled it with hard work. And here I am, running, trying to chase this dream, yet in the process of achieving it, am I also running away from others in exchange?

What's happening to me? "I don't know… I don't know…"

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There's nothing much… just that Karin's well undergoing some changes, just trying to show that here… more to come… hmm… sore dake desu… hehehe… ja, mata ne! 


	19. Home

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick:** aww… well there will be some cheering up, though the one for the next chapter is much more fun, and clue they already did it before… bwhahaha 

**Kalyope Medina Burato**: hehehe… everybody's just coming back, hehe… yeah, hehehe… oh, you took the words right out of my mouth with the whole friends thing… hehehe… the school she moved into is Miuradai… I know there was some confusion with Aiwa, but I didn't want her to move into a school with like the greatest basketball team, so yeah…

**Simmic:** well, I just think that it's hard to adjust to a new environment, but adjusting to a new environment when the school's just about to end, it's like well, basically, not a lot of people transfer to other schools at the middle of the school year, so yeah… hehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

With my forefinger, I lightly pressed on the button in which beside it a dot flashed, blinking to me in red. "Hey, Karin, I'm calling," It was Mitsui with his calm though somewhat exhausted voice. "To inform you that I am angry at you for not coming to our game. I am very well aware that you are somewhat pre-occupied with your studies," His voice was monotone; proceeding in a robotic manner that even I could instantly recognize that he wasn't really serious about any of this. Though for some reason, it clawed at the edge of my heart, wanting me to realize the stitch lines in this un-seamed cover.

"I am disappointed at your actions. For the most part you have attended the games I played in, and though sometimes you may be absent, I would like to inform you that you have missed Shohoku's basketball games for three consecutive times. Now, apparently, I am leaning at the corner, and must die of disappointment. Have a good day." I heard the dial tone, and as the next one loomed in, the voice appeared to be his. "Hey Karin, you haven't called in like, 3 hours, what's up with that? Anyways, I'm alive and well, ok? Well, if people are starting to bother you, Tetsuo's always available anyways, and well you know I can't beat anybody up, so yeah, but I'll still come though, so don't hesitate."

I got tired of standing, and so I reached for the nearest chair and grabbed it, sitting down comfortably, watching as the sun's rays made its way onto the cold glass. "Hey, it's Jin. Um… so you moved already… well, how's your new school? I hope your ok with your studies now, and I'll be glad to help in any way I can ok? So just call me if you need anything, that's all really, oh, and Kainan hasn't lost a game yet, we hope that Shohoku gets into the top four, we're looking forward to our match with them. Well then, bye."

I turned the machine off and went off in search of my homework. And though everything was laid out in front of me, I could not seem to concentrate. My head drifting in and out, my brain wandering the course of its space, and myself, simply tired of all this weight.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I had already called Mitsui. I was on the verge of returning the phone to its receiver when I heard his voice, though unrecognizable was his speech it's sound remained still. I brought back the phone to my ear. "Karin, I know it's you so stop it with the silence thing. You're not the only one with caller id you know." I held the phone out of earshot, and amidst his voice yelling out my name, I shut it out by reuniting the phone with its cover.

I sat there, willing myself to study despite the headache that was forming, and as I struggled to stand, I was not mistaken the phone indeed had rung. "Karin?" Jin's voice reached out. "Yeah, it's me."

"Oh, good." He sounded relieved. "Mitsui just called and told me you called him and that you weren't responding, so he asked me to call you. It seems you're alright though." Mitsui doesn't really run out of ideas to irritate me. "I'm sorry if he bothered you for no reason." And now I had to apologize on his behalf, what a troublemaker.

"It's nothing, but your voice sure didn't sound like for no reason." I let out a desperate chuckle. I had been caught. "So I was right." Is he expecting me to say something? I've never said anything this personal before, this personal feeling I have only kept to myself. Should I tell him?

"It's nothing, and it's everything, and – and –" I tried to hold back the tears. "I don't know, I can't explain it, but I'm just – I feel –" I could not find the right words to say. "I'm tired Jin." I could feel the tears run down my face, could feel them soak my clothing, though I did not do anything to stop it. "I'm tired… of watching my aunt hold what is left of this family, of myself trying to reach a goal that's set up too high– why did this have to happen to us? To me?"

"Enough." His voice was firm, yet gentle. "Don't think of it that way." I listened more closely, could hear his breath as if he was right next to me. "I can't…" I could hear him whisper endlessly, "Shh… Shh…"

"It's not that easy…" I choked the words I had been hoping I wouldn't have to admit.. "Why do you think I'm here?" He blurted out. I placed a hand to my heart, trying to calm the raging tempest. "Why do you think your friends are here?" I took my first breath, my heartbeat frantically trying to even out its rhythm.

I could barely hold the phone steady, all of me losing its will to move. I just wanted to lie down on my bed, close my eyes, and sleep without worries. "Share the burden with me when it's too heavy okay?" I nodded my head. "Okay?" I forgot I had answered him as if he was right in front of me, waiting. "Thank you… very much."

"That's better." He lightened up, his tone alleviated of that heavy note. I sat there, watching the curtains remain still, seeing the leaves motionless, and witnessing the sun sink under the mountains. It was unfortunate that I did not hear my stomach complain of its hunger, though unfortunate when I noticed I was embracing the phone right where the sound would be. There was another jumble of words before I brought it back to my ear. "If you're hungry you know you should eat."

The hum of hunger walked alongside with him, that the blood abundantly flooded my cheeks. "I know." There was another laugh that came from him, and soon I too felt like I wanted to share in this newfound joy found from the simplest things. "I'll call later okay? Go eat." He could not seem to control himself, and just as my cold façade was cracking, we disconnected, and I ran to the kitchen before I could throw myself in bed, roll around whilst my hands enveloped my stomach, and laugh till I could spare not a single breath.

The next morning had thankfully been a weekend, and it was that time that as I stood up from bed in order to throw the curtains over the windows did I compell myself to visit Shohoku once again.

The journey had been invigorating. My excitement ran free, and at times I could not suppressed a smile, even though the people looked at me weirdly. The air was refreshing, and as I got off the bus and faced my old high school, memories soaked through the surface, and I was filled with joy.

I took my time in taking in the surroundings, passing by a path lined with trees, walking alongside it's building, through it's soccer field, stopping only when I saw the outdoor basketball court in the distance.

There was a figure, a ball in one hand, unsure of whether to take the next step and shoot, or just continue on with his repeating strokes of the basketball.

I recognized it as Yohei, and as he lifted his arms to take a shot, I wondered for a second if I could hear once more that triumphant sound of a swish. I heard a much more depressing sound as the ball bounced off the rim. He turned to pick it up and finally became aware of my presence. "Senpai?" He asked, as if it was a question. I did not answer him as if it was a question. "Long time you haven't been dropping by." He continued on casually.

When he noticed my eyes drift towards the basketball he was holding, he hid it behind his back. "You didn't see that shot by chance did you senpai?" I slowly nodded my head, moving to my right while he moved to his left; I was only trying to find a way around to take a look at the basketball.

"I often see Jin do these kinds of shots. You should try it again." He moved backwards as I moved forwards, still securing the basketball behind him. "Go on, Yohei-san." He stopped as he reached the edge of the court, and bit-by-bit moved to the free-throw line.

He hesitantly drew the ball in front of him, dribbling the ball as if he found it heavy to push it back to the ground. After what seemed like eternity, which turned out to be only minutes, he held the ball with both hands, dribbled three times, before he lifted his arms for a chance. Now, what it only took was for him to release his shot.

It sailed through the air with ease, though it still met the same fate as the last one. It hit the rim on the side, and bounced off into the grass. "Yo Yohei, I didn't know you had potential." I recognized that voice. It was Mitsui.

Yohei bounced the ball to him, and he immediately set off to show-off his skills and even played a little one on one game with Yohei, that ended quickly with a three-point shot. "Whoa, wait a second… Karin?" He released the ball, running towards me, holding me by the shoulders, and shaking me like it was 7 on the Richter scale.

"Hisashi!" Ayako's voice distant, yet as she kept on yelling, it was obvious she was right on the path. "Hisashi, what are you doing here? I thought you were just getting something from your locker? Oh hello Yohei, did you see Sakuragi? Tell him to be on time for the morning practices please." Mitsui turned to face her, and as I jutted out from behind him, Ayako's smile was unmistakable. "Karin!" She generously endowed me with a bone-crushing hug, before I finally threw all formalities into the wind that passed by, and returned her hug with equal strength, sincerely responding, "Yup! It's me!"

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to be continued… hehe… oh yeah, just some hints… something with yoyogi and rukawa… something with mitsui and jin, hehe… hmm.. what else… and a plan to get Karin out of school in time for Shohoku's match with Shoyo… that's all I'm telling… 


	20. Game

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Chazyme**: Thanks for the review! Yeah she seemed kinda hopeless on Do You See Me… I'mglad you like this though.. hehehe…

**Kalyope Medina Erato**: hehe… thanks a bunch… yup! Miuradai! Hehehe… I remembered them… well it was that or Tsukubu or something… yup, she's still in Kanagawa… that's why there weren't that much drama with her leaving and stuff… besides hagino's the one who's really moving a bit far, but still within the country

**Santeira**: it's okay, you don't have to hurry in the reviews… hehehe… thanks for reviewing, and oh maybe it's ambiguous cause, this is actually the sequel, but I didn't really write it in The Writing On The Wall, since I didn't really expected anyone new to read it, apart from the ones who've already read do you see me… hehehe… but yeah, it's a sequel… and if being a sequel is not the reason, it's just me… hehehe… I will try to improve on that…

**Simmic**: thanks… hmm… well, I don't really have a plan with that… hehehe… besides, sometimes you make friends under weird circumstances…. Bwahahaa… don't mind me.. hehe

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**The Writing On The Wall**

As I sat for my last subject of the day, I miserably rested my chin on my palm, and when my palm got tired of supporting it, I slowly brought my whole arm down to the table, and remained in the same position until I could no longer feel the blood coursing through my veins, a tingling, and a sense of sensation being lost taking its place.

Today was Shohoku's match with Shoyo. I managed a worn out sigh. As I looked at the blackboard, the constant movement of the chalk across its length, there stood Anzai-sensei mapping out his plan for the game. "Rukawa-kun will remain a small forward," I shook my head. There were only math formula's rooted on it's green space.

I wondered how the crowd would be like as their team entered the court. Last year's triumph had brought attention to the whole basketball team. And along with the prestige, came fan clubs, and fans that can't stop worshipping. It would be impossible to hear anything other than their screaming. You could hardly move amongst the crowd that seemed to build itself into one solid being. And all you would see from below is the sea of colours, red and green, the colours of their respectful teams.

"I need a volunteer to answer this question." It was probably just a reporter wanting to get the latest scoop on the new sensation. Wait - that was my teacher's voice. I buried my head in my hands, and lightly banged it against my table. "Ouch." I murmured. It did not help to bring me back to life.

"Takahashi-san, please go to the Guidance Office." I stood up from the crowd, though a couple of others daring to pretend they were me, who was the number one fan of the basketball team, and had been dedicated this win, a girl responded by grabbing me by the shoulder. "Takahashi-san, you're being called to the Guidance Office." My seatmate Aoi, said.

I quickly stood up from my table, and just as I reached the door, another announcement came in. "Yoyogi Kana please go to the Principal's Office." I almost wanted to give her a smug look of victory. Though I happened to even be exhausted of arguing.

"Ne, Karin, do you know what Rukawa likes to listen to?" Yoyogi had taken her place in line with me, though she left much space between the two of us. "You know, music?" an eyebrow instantaneously rose with that remark. It was as if she doubted my ability to interpret speech. "I have no idea." I struggled to speak the words, for the rising emotion that disrupted my harmony was desperately trying to take over me. "Don't be selfish."

It was glad that I did not have to answer her question as I reached the Guidance Office. "It's your choice if you want to believe me or not, but I'm telling you this just one more time. I - don't -know." I opened the door, and found a man in his fifties, his beard unkempt, and as I blinked my eyes to rub them off of sleep, I noticed the lack of symmetry in them. I shook my head.

"Please take a seat, Ka –" He took his glasses and read the sheet of paper. "Takahashi Karin." I sat as he had asked me to, and wondered of the reason as to why I was sent in. He ruffled the cluster of papers on his table, and opened the drawers as if he had lost something. "Well, in any case, I know it's of short notice, but you're participating on, an, um, off-campus activity, ok?"

I wished to know off the details. "Sir-" The door opened, to reveal a younger woman in a suit, carrying a cup of coffee. "Your coffee sir." She announced, and while approaching his table, he whistled, to which she simply smiled and poured the coffee on his expensive looking outfit. He stood up, took a few of the tissues and tried to wipe away the stain that had soaked his ensemble. The secretary took the empty cup with her, and winked, though she did not seem to be comfortable walking in those heels.

"The transportation is waiting outside sir." With that, she closed the door. "Well, a little bit of a mess there." He stood up and tried his best to straighten out his jacket. "Shall we?" He offered for me to be on my way, though I only rose from my seat. "Where are we going sir?"

"To the off-campus activity, now let's go, go." When I did not move, he walked behind me and started to push me until I had walked a few steps and exited the office. The secretary was leaning on the wall, and as we came outside, she stood up and linked her arm into mine, preventing me from complaining.

I examined more closely my superiors. There was a fleck of white dust resting on his shoulder. When he noticed I had been staring at it intently, he brushed it away, laughing when he said, "Oh my, how embarrassing, it's just dandruff, shampoo and conditioner after all is getting expensive." The secretary laughed along with him, and as they laughed while keeping their eyes at me, I took it as a signal to laugh, though mine came out in choked pieces, it was obvious I was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.

When we turned on the next corridor, the guidance councillor took off his moustache and began to shake his head, the white dust flying all over the place. "Mitsui!" I was shocked. "Yeah, I mean wigs aren't exactly cheap, baby powder is easier." Now then, I turned my attention of the secretary who stopped to take off her heels, and almost tossed them into the trashcan. "Ah! I can hardly walk anymore."

"Ayako!" Seriously, how do they come up with these ridiculously insane, not to mention dangerous yet somewhat intriguing ideas? Though I would never tell them straight out I found it quite interesting. They are really partners in crime. "Ayako, is there still some left?" Ayako released her hold on me to attend to Mitsui. "Bow your head a bit." He followed her instruction, and she set out to pat away the last remaining specks of powder on his hair.

"What about me?" I suddenly brought them back to the situation they had dug themselves in. "You're out." Ayako said, he arms waving in the air. "Yup, the game's starting in 2 hours, we have to hurry." Mitsui said, looking at his fake Rolex watch.

"In any case, we should get going." Ayako once again linked her arm in mine, and joined hands with Mitsui on her left, and proceeded to walk cheerfully, the gate just right ahead of us. "Takahashi-san!" A scream pierced the hushed environment, and it was not a mistake when I thought of Yoyogi Kana.

She ran up to us, huffing and placing her hands on her knees when she had caught up, and I wondered why we hadn't ran and tried to lose her instead. "Takahashi-san, where are you planning to go? Don't you know we still have class? That wouldn't look good on your record, would it?"

She turned her head to Mitsui, in which she gave an energetic smile. "Mitsui-kun. Wow, you have gotten taller, a bit." She laughed. She neared him and tried to see exactly how tall he had gotten. "Still handsome I see." Ayako tightened her grip on Mitsui's hand.

"Do I know you?" With his seriously confused tone of voice, I snorted. I could not possibly let it out as a laugh. Here she was, intentionally or unintentionally getting dissed by the guy she had dumped on Junior High. It wasn't a surprise really.

She laughed yet again, this time with added force. "Don't joke around Mitsui-kun. Junior High? You know, Yoyogi Kana? Does that ring any bell?" She was getting desperate for recognition. Mitsui snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, Yoyogi Kana?" He asked as if Yoyogi Kana had been unrecognizable. "Still ug-" At the jab of Ayako's elbow, he stopped himself.

"Oh, hello." She turned now to Ayako. If I could say voice out my opinion, I would rather keep my mouth shut. "Hey your– yo what's up." Ayako greeted, reigning in on the attitude, still keeping close to Mitsui. "And you are?" I almost felt sorry for her – almost. "Nishida Ayako." She smiled yet again, the lines in her face evident. "Nice to meet you."

"Anyways, back to the topic." I almost let out a sigh of relief – and after that, I did. The attention switched back to me. "Don't mind me." She poised herself and continued, "Are you perhaps going to the game between Shohoku and Shoyo?"

If we had been given the chance, we all would have chorused, 'Duh.' Instead, Mitsui just grabbed Ayako's hand and started to walk to the bus station. I started to walk to, following them behind, and shortly after that, I heard footsteps rushing to match with mine. "Wait up Karin!" I ignored her, and kept on walking. "I said wait up!" Everybody stopped in their tracks. "What is wrong with all of you?" After that comment, we resumed on walking.

There was not a single word that escaped our mouths after that, except for Yoyogi who kept on asking questions. "So, where is the game?" I paid for my ticket, and did not wait for her. After a few moments, she had managed to catch up with me. "Do we have reserved seating?" I almost crumpled the ticket in my hand. Why aren't they, and yes I am referring to Mitsui and Ayako, doing anything?

"Stop ignoring me Karin. Remember, I can just as easily ruin your reputation showing this picture of you," She held out her cellular phone, "To the principal." She placed it back inside her handbag. "Yes, and I can just as show this picture of you," I held out my phone, "To the principal." I thought I heard her growl, but I didn't bother myself about it, I was safe, for now.

The ride to the stadium had been one of the most agonizing times of my life. I would have plugged my headphones right at the start of this whole ordeal if I had brought them with me, but I had not expected such a drastic plan just to get me out of school, nor was I informed that such a plan was to take place. I tried to engage myself in the endless building that seemed to occupy every space. "So, does Rukawa have a girlfriend?" She sat herself across me, that I had strained my neck to look sideways to avoid seeing her face to face. I decided to answer in the hopes of shutting her up. "No."

"That's good then. Not that I'm worried or anything, it just makes things much smoother for me, at least our relationship won't hurt somebody." Somehow, I'm starting to think Yoyogi and Nobunaga are related, but somehow her cockiness sounds worse than Nobunaga's. "So, what do you think Rukawa likes in a girl?"

"I don't know." I answered immediately. I've tried to do everything, but nothing works. It's either her skin's so thick she doesn't get the message that I don't want to talk to her, or she's just fooling herself into thinking that I'm not really irritated of her presence. "I bet of course he likes high class girls," She chuckled, "Which I'm an excellent example." I rested my cheek on the glass. She's starting to give me a headache.

Before she could continue to voice out her thoughts, the train stopped at the station and from a distance I saw Ayako and Mitsui exit the train. I quickly stood up and ran after them. "Wait!" I stopped before the crowd pushed me to the exit.

"It's your problem if you can't catch up!" She managed to squeeze out of the crowd before they started pouring inside. She tried to fix her hair, and examined her face on her mirror. "We don't have time for that! The game's about to start!" She placed her mirror inside her handbag, and walked up to me. "Let's go." Finally.

Ayako led us into a different path, which I assumed was the path that leads to the team's lockers. "Are we going to visit them?" I doubt Ayako or anybody else from the team would let her in, since she'd only be a nuisance.

As soon as Ayako realized that, she began to turn around, when Mitsui held on to her. "There's no time." I heard him say. Ayako faced the two of us. "You two stay out here." She looked at me apologetically. I knew what she meant. I used to be allowed to go inside, since I didn't make any noise. Yoyogi seemed to be satisfied with it, and did not complain any further. Ayako and Mitsui entered the locker room.

"At least I have some time to fix my make-up for Rukawa-kun." She brought her mirror once again. "My hair's all messed up." She quickly set to re-touching her face, and combing out her hair, after which she sprayed some perfume.

The door opened, and the team excited, first by their new captain, Miyagi, followed closely by Sakuragi, and then Akagi, though he had only been a guest. After Kogure, Mitsui, and the rest of the team made their appearance, Rukawa showed up, Ayako behind him, and beside Ayako was Haruko.

"Rukawa-kun!" Yoyogi shrieked. He stopped at the door and looked at her. "Hi! I'm Yoyogi Ka-" Rukawa walked away. "So cool!" She still praised. "Good luck Rukawa! Do your best!" By his expression, he didn't seem to hear her. She sighed. "Isn't he so cool?"

"He was." Haruko replied, and before Yoyogi could question her of her identity, Haruko yelled, "Good luck Sakuragi!" Sakuragi's ears enlarged, and he looked back, a huge smile on his face. "Haruko!" Miyagi pushed him along. "Eh? Ryo-chin! Let me savour the moment!" Miyagi hit him on the back of his head. "The game Sakuragi. That's all that should be occupying your mind." Sakuragi nodded, and quickly settled into preparing himself mentally for the game.

I slowly inched away, while Yoyogi was still drooling over Rukawa's back, and sneaked out while Rukawa was still there, or else she'd return back to normal.

I emerged to find that the bleacher had been more or less filled to the brim. Luckily, the Sakuragi-guntan spotted me and made room for me by throwing out one of the other spectators. As Shohoku and Shoyo made their way inside court, the scream was deafening from both sides. I could feel the excitement rush through me, and I could not help but feel the impending start of a wonderful game. I wondered what Shoyo was able to come up with, and at the same time, I wondered what Shohoku would show at this game. I took in a deep breath and screamed as loud as I could. "Go Shohoku!" My voice combined with those who had the same thoughts.

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Ok, I'm not good at basketball games but I will try, that's why I'm cutting it here, in order to do some more research… ehehhe… sorry for not updating earlier, but I had like last projects to deal with… but it's vacation now so yeah… hehehe… please bear with me on the basketball scenes… hehehe… thanks for reading! 


	21. Different

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Coffeemaverick:** LOL… good thing your modem's fine now… um… my ideas? They just kinda come out of my head… lol… and now I just have to force myself from being lazy to write them down… lol… about ayako and mitsui entering the building… I know it sounds kinda crazy… lol… about how they got in… but probably just through sneaking inside as visitors or something… new transfer students… lol… taking the bathroom to change clothes… and then knocking out the guidance councillor after he had called Karin to come to his office and hiding him in the janitor's closet… lol… I do know why she was called to the office… lol…

**Kalyope Medina Burato**: LOL… Yoyogi should be killed, lol… yeah she annoys me too… lol… hmm… argh, the pressure of writing a game is getting to me… lol… sorry for the delay… I am going to make it up by posting well… as of now… I have 3 chapters planned to finish…

**Santeira**: sorry to hear that… I hope that everything is going well… my eyes are a problem too… the grade keeps on getting higher… argh… you printed my chapters? Lol… don't mind me… I'm just so happy that you took the time to read them… lol… oh and "I" stands for Karin… lol… I plan to write more for the underdeveloped characters of the slamdunk bunch…

**Simmic:** thank you… hmm… basketball games… not really good with it since I myself am not a player… LOL… anyways, sorry for the delay… and I hope it is good… more chapters are coming up… I'm making up for the long break that I took… lol

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**The Writing On The Wall**

There stood down below the bleachers two great teams, both that have crossed paths before, and are crossing that same path again. Though this time, it is not as what has already been done, for here stands two teams retaining their previous name and honour, yet here they stand different in their making.

However, familiar faces still adorn the crowd. The previous captain of the Shoyo team was there, offering a couple of invaluable advice, perhaps regarding Miyagi, Sakuragi, and Rukawa, all of whom he had the opportunity to observe during the last time he had encountered them at court. Hanagata was there with him as well, giving words of encouragement, and laying his hopes of winning into their shoulders.

On the Shohoku Bench, Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui were present. Akagi did not speak so much as to watch how Miyagi has taken on his role, and from the looks he was giving, he was fairly impressed with how Miyagi has taken care of this new team. Mitsui was joking around with the Toki Kuwata, who was nervous, and apparently, did not have as much confidence in his skills as Mitsui did.

The impending game was about to start. You could feel it in every corner of the room, the tension from both teams trying to break free, the excitement from both fans unwillingly subdued as of the moment. And as the referee called the teams to assemble themselves onto the court, and motioned for the centers of both teams to meet for the jump ball, everyone found themselves at the edge of their seats. I was no exception.

It was only mere seconds before the whistle blew. Both Sakuragi and Yamamoto jumped, reaching for the ball, but Yamamoto, who's height was greater than that of Sakuragi's, was able to hold it first, gently tapping it to his teammate Ishikawa, though Miyagi wasted no time in cutting through him and receives the ball. Both Ishikawa and Yamamoto were impressed by Miyagi's speed, but lost no time in gaining up to him.

Miyagi's efforts had been short-lived as from the side, a player overtook him, and as he made a plan to evade the opponent that was urging him to come, the rest of Shoyo's players had already positioned themselves, thoroughly guarding each Shohoku player. Miyagi was driven to a halt, and he now dribbled the ball with ease, he was ramming his brain of new ideas, new ways to get pass through their defence.

He looks to his right; Kuwata is guarded by Chiba, Shoyo's shooting guard. To his left, he finds Rukawa, guarded with great intensity by Ishikawa, who had quickly recovered himself from his previous slip. He tried to evade the point guard that stood between him and a chance at a score, and seeing that their new shooting guard was not letting his guard down for even a moment, he moved to his right, Nagato followed, he passed the ball to his left, and Rukawa running to get the pass was intercepted by Ishikawa, and soon the chance was reversed in favour of Shoyo.

Shohoku was now on the defensive. Miyagi was now running beside Ishikawa, when Ishikawa suddenly jumped and passed to Nagato who was heading straight for the net, the rest of Shohoku's player's trailing behind him. As soon as Nagato held in his hands the ball, Sakuragi had a burst of energy and was about to catch up to him when Nagato passed it just below Sakuragi's outstretched arm to Chiba on the far corner, and he immediately threw himself into a three-pointer. To our dismay, it soundly went in.

The ball was now in possession of Shohoku, and as Miyagi carefully laid out his plan, he decided that he was wasting time, and decided to make a plan on the go. He ran and as Nagato intercepted him, he attempted a throw that looked like a shot, though it had been too low, and Sakuragi jumped out to reach it. At that span of time, Miyagi was now a little bit more on the inside of Shoyo's court. At the touch of the basketball, Sakuragi fires up and jumps in the air, attempting a slam dunk, though Yamamoto drives the ball out of his hands, and Rukawa then screens off Nagato, leaving Miyagi free to catch the ball and aim for a successful jump shot.

Nagato now held the ball, and as Shohoku slowly retreated to their defensive position, Nagato passes to Torinaga while he himself went on ahead. However, as Torinaga got closer, Rukawa screens off Nagato, while Kuwata took on Ishikawa. Miyagi met Torinaga, and as he was not a skilled defender, Miyagi steals the ball from him, and charges to the opponent's net. Ishikawa evades Ishii and runs back to his court. Sakuragi breaks free from Yamamoto's defence and runs even faster, eventually overtaking Miyagi, Miyagi throws the ball into the air, and it was too high, out comes Sakuragi catching the ball, and slamming it into the net for a slam dunk.

After that shot, Shohoku began to experience the real power of Shoyo. Nagato was not a very skilled player on his own, but he had a powerful mind. His tactics lured most of the time Sakuragi and concentrated on his hot-temperedness. At other times, Ishii and Kuwata were the target, both of whom did not get much experience last year, but has just started to bond with the team. Ishikawa turned out to be a great player, and their best defender, and at the middle of the game, he was able to successfully hold off Rukawa, leaving him no choice but to pass to Sakuragi, which everyone knows must be the last person he would past to if given the chance. However, Ishikawa had made some slip-ups during the earlier part of the game due to his overconfidence. But approaching the halftime, it was clear he was making up for it.

Yamamoto is also excellent not only for his height, but also for his strength as he is able to hold off Sakuragi, except that at one point of the game, Sakuragi used his wall technique on him which completely threw Yamamoto off his game, and enabled Miyagi to tap the ball away from him. Torinaga and Chiba so far was not outshining the previous three members of the team, but it did not mean that they were not contributing to the tension that they were putting on Shohoku.

As the minutes dwindled down to seconds, the ball was now in possession of Shoyo, and as the clock was counting down less than half a minute, Shohoku was able to hold them off with allowing Shoyo just a four-point lead.

I quickly excused myself from the gang, following the path that I had come in, in the hope of finding the Shohoku locker room and to offer some cheering. I held the knob and turned it, pushing the door inside, and jerseys of violet and gold surrounded the area.

"How'd you know we have a game today?" Nobunaga was the closest one to the door, and as everybody's eyes settled on me, I found myself searching for Jin. He was beside the coach, and as the coach ceased to scribble on his whiteboard, Jin looked up. He didn't say anything, and I was still standing in the middle of their discussion. "But in any case, are you going to stay to watch our match?" I heard Nobunaga's voice in the background. I was still facing Jin when I nodded. "Sure, when is it?"

"After Shohoku's match, we're facing Ryonan." Nobunaga opened his water bottle and took a large gulp from it. "If you're trying to find Shohoku's locker," Jin's voice finally broke in, "They're on the next room." I still wondered why I was still standing inside the room, everybody waiting for me to excuse myself. "Well, good luck to you guys, Nobunaga, Jin." I slowly turned my back against them, and Nobunaga remarking again in that same cocky voice of his, "No problem, we beat Ryonan once, we can do it again." I smiled, and grabbed the doorknob, dragging it behind me, "Thank you." Jin's voice replied.

I remained standing outside of the Kainan locker room, just running through again everything that had happened in that brief moment. I recollected how my voice seemed distant, my manners even to some extent shy, and that they had conversed with me in the same formal manner, even for Nobunaga's usual cocky attitude.

I wondered what went wrong, when did we start to develop this gap, and why. Was it because of me? Was it because I never returned his calls, or rarely listened to the messages on my phone since I devoted so little of my time to talk with my friends, because I felt the distance that separated us? All these thoughts kept running through my head.

I heard the unmistakable shriek of the crowd; it signalled that the game would resume soon enough. I didn't bother to go where I had originally planned, but instead, left quickly for the bleachers. It did not take me much time to find it, but it did take me time to reach my seat.

Both teams once again re-appeared, and as both centers were once again called to the court, the intense feeling of that first jump ball lingered on us all.

This time around, Sakuragi reached the ball first, and tapped it confidently to Kuwata who immediately passed it sideways to Yasuda, and Yasuda ran passing it to Miyagi, who was then to direct the course of this play.

Though the audience had their favorites, nobody could really tell who would win. Neither of the teams dominated the other, resulting in no clear winner. It kept on going like this for a while, Shoyo retaining their lead, but not for long, for Shohoku would quickly make it's comeback and overtake them, and Shoyo wanting to win this, would drive Shohoku out of the lead again. Rukawa returned to his old selfish self, and started to play the game excluding his newly found technique of sharing. Though for a while, this served Shohoku some more points, this resulted in Anzai-sensei forcing Rukawa out of the court, so that he wouldn't repeat what had happened last year with Kainan.

He wasn't detained for long, as seeing as Shoyo took advantage of this loss, and was starting to grow the gap between them and Shohoku. However, just as usual, they made the mistake of underestimating the not so experienced players of Shohoku: Kuwata, Yasuda, and Ishii. With Miyagi's genius plans, he was able to work with the abilities of the following players and use them to the advantage of Shohoku.

But Shoyo learned quickly, and no longer fell unto Miyagi's trap, and guarded Kuwata, Yasuda, and Ishii equally. As the minutes continued to countdown, Sakuragi stepped up to the plate, and moved out of his boundaries. For once, he did not look tired, and there were even times throughout the course of the game, where he seemed to receive this energy boost that would just fire his spirit, and get him to overcome his opponent, whether it may be the skilled Ishikawa, the giant Yamamoto, or the genius Nagato.

I glanced once again at the clock. There were only three minutes to go. Next, I looked to the scoreboard. It was 98-96, in favour of Shohoku. But just at that moment where I averted my gaze, the crowd cheered, and the lead once again switched to Shoyo. It was 98-99, courtesy of Chiba who just performed a three-point shot.

There was only one minute and a half in the game. As I started to panic, and my fingers testifying to that, a time-out was issued by Shohoku. We waited, the crowd debating and some even betting, whose team would win? There was of course no doubting which team I wanted to win, but their formidable opponent, Shoyo, didn't seem to want to willingly give us this victory. And that thought was stupid, what team in their right mind would just give up? Maybe if their skills were far off, but it wasn't the case in this particular game.

The game was resumed. I had no idea what the plan was, but as soon as Sakuragi once again reached the ball from the jump ball, I figured what it was. It was a desperate attempt, but the team was taking a risk. Sakuragi landed on the polished floors of the court, and immediately used his strength to hurl the ball high into the air, Miyagi running before even that was executed, everybody wondering whether someone would be able to catch up with the ball's speed, and someone stepped up to the plate. Shohoku's point guard arrived just in time as the ball dropped and he caught it, dribbled it twice and as he saw from the corner of his eyes Nagato catching up to him, he quickly ran for an easy lay-up.

The score now was 103-102, still in favour of Shoyo. There was only now a minute into the game. And once again, Sakuragi stepped into the plate. He was successful in holding Yamamoto back, and as Yamamoto struggled, Sakuragi gone a bit overboard, and accidentally elbowed him in the process of defending. He received another foul, and was already suffering 4 consequently.

Thirty seconds remaining, and Anzai-sensei resolved to let Sakuragi stay on the court. Once again, Miyagi was seeking to find an opening, anything in which he could take advantage of, and help his team to win. He saw Rukawa raising his hand, and Miyagi trusted him, and passed the ball to him. He once again reverted to his old playing habits, and took on Ishikawa on his own. Nagata ran to double team with Ishikawa, though Miyagi blocked him, reminding him whom he was supposed to be guarding. Though Sakuragi hated the thought of Rukawa actually producing the winning shot, he didn't fail this time to let Yamamoto help.

Chiba however eluded Kuwata and rushed in, he arrived a bit late though, as of that moment, Rukawa chose to jump into the air, and take aim. It was clear that with both guys blocking him, there was no way he was going to get his shot in, he wasn't in a fade-away position, and for a split second everybody thought it was over. Until Rukawa lowered the ball and passed it behind him, and as the three players watched, Kuwata, one who is by no means equal to Mitsui in skills, assumed the role and attempted with courage a jump shot. It bounced off the rim.

Sakuragi, living up to the name The Rebound King, was there, and finished the game with a resounding slam-dunk before the horn blared the ending of another impressive game. Everybody stood up from their seats, and held their breaths. "The final score, 104-103, in favour of Shohoku!" The place roared with everything from shock, to happiness to disappointment from the Shoyo team.

The guntai and I couldn't help but jump from our seats, sparing each other a hug, and after everything settled down, the crowds parted, some left, and some stayed, and for those who exited the stadium, new ones filled them out. It was what reminded me that the game between Ryonan and Kainan was about to take place, exactly an hour from now.

I sat back down once again, fearing that if I stood, some eager fan would steal it from me. I saw Nobunaga and Jin making their appearance, exchanging handshakes with the Shohoku team, congratulating them, while Shohoku in turn wished them good luck.

Nobunaga seemed to have commented about the huge crowd gathering, as Jin looked into the bleachers, and for a second, I thought our eyes met, but I didn't do anything, and he didn't either, so I wondered if it just looked like that since he was so far away. He started to wave though, and I wanted to wave back, though some of the other fans waved back at him.

He walked up to the bleachers and sat beside me. "That was a great game." He commented. I nodded, still wanting to berate myself for missing other such games like this. "So…" We both said at the same time. "You go first." He said. It wasn't like I had something planned in mind. "Well, um… nothing much really. Just – well – good luck."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Thanks. Ryonan is a tough team to deal with, especially Sendoh, but we'll give it our best." I smiled a little at his words. "You'll be fine." He gave the court a look. "We can't be anything else than fine, or else we'll lose." I agreed with him. "It's-" He started to speak, now pausing for a second. "It's been quite some time since we last talked to each other."

I nodded, yet again, something, which I seemed to be repeatedly doing ever since we started talking. "Yeah." I couldn't quite answer it in any other way. "How's everything is Miuradai?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm regaining the grades I need to apply for a scholarship and yeah. You?" He took a deep breath. "Well, I've just been preparing for the finals as well, I've already received my acceptance letter for the basketball camp, and I've been preparing for this… the Inter-High competition."

It was really two different paths I couldn't help but think. "I'm glad that you came today. To be honest, I was quite surprised that you were here." He was looking at me now. "I'm glad I came too." I bowed my head, I couldn't seem to look him in the eye, I felt my cheeks heat up, something that didn't happen for quite some time now.

"Karin-" His voice broke the silence. "Jin! Coach is looking for us!" Nobunaga ran up the bleachers, and Jin stood up to meet him. "We'll talk later okay?" I nodded and smiled.

But beneath that smile was the constant pounding of my heart. When he had said my name, something just made me want to make him stop. It was something I didn't wish to hear, it was something I didn't want to confront, it was something I didn't want to come true. At least, that's what I thought for myself.

I still stayed for the game. Cheered when his name was introduced, and sat in anticipation as the ball rose in the air. Only a few minutes in the game and I was starting to be drawn in, when my phone rang. It was from an unknown number, and I picked it up. "Hello? Takahashi Karin is that you?" It was the principal, looking for me. "Where are you? Do you know where Yoyogi Kana is? Your teacher reported that you and Yoyogi did not come back to class after you had been called to the Guidance Office."

My voice was held in my throat. "What is that noise? Where are you Takahashi? I want you to come back to school and pay my office a visit. I'll be waiting in my office after school hours, so you have no excuse not to show up. I expect a rational explanation for all of this." I hung the phone up without even saying goodbye.

"I knew this wasn't a good idea." I ran a hand through my hair. The game was still going. Jin was still dribbling the ball expertly, holding himself well against his opponent. I stood up and made my way out of the bleachers. There was another cheer as I was on my way out, just in time to see Jin's successful three-pointer. I found the exit, and took a lonely ride back to revisit the foreboding room of the principal's office.

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Well, that's all for now. I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long… but I've been recently finding other areas that I'm interested in such as composing songs, and in some days I'm just lazy , and I still don't know what's going to happen next, so the next chapter might take some time again… I do hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter. 


	22. See Through

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

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**Kalyope Medina Burato**: thanks for reviewing once again! Well… yup I'm trying not to rush, but finally after being able to revive myself, from this sort of almost sloth-like laziness in opening Microsoft word, I've finally said to myself, I will continue to write and finish the stories that are being conceived in my head… anyways, keep up with your suspicions, they may be right…

**Simmic**: haha, I was kinda shocked when I saw your review for I was still awake at that time and it was already almost 5 am in Calgary, anyways, yeah I think that since I'm not a basketball player too, I can only describe basketball based on how I can, and since you're not a player to, my writing translates well to you since it does not include too much technicality and all that stuff I have no knowledge off… well, what Jin and Karin were talking about will be confronted in a few chapters from now…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

As the screams from the crowd became more distant and softened to alter into the sounds of engines running, and vehicles constantly on the road, the bus arrived right on time, and I took a seat for myself and gazed out of the window.

"Karin-" Jin's voice broke in my head. I jerked up in response to the vibrating sensation beside me - my phone had rung. I picked it up, and for the second time of the day, I talked to the principal. "Takahashi Karin? Is that you?" I replied, "Yes."

"That's good, well to tell you frankly, there's no need for you to come by to my office, Yoyogi Kana just called and explained everything to me. Though next time, please do call back the school and inform them okay?" I could not believe my ears. First for the fact that Yoyogi Kana had actually covered up for me, and second, that I was not in any trouble at all.

"But-" I began to protest, even though I must have been crazy to do so. "But?" The principal echoed my words back at me. "Nothing." She bid me a good day and a farewell and hung up.

I sat there, the bus still running, when I asked the driver to stop. I went out of the bus, and rode another one, it's destination bringing me back to the stadium, hoping that at least I could still catch up with the game.

As soon as I mounted the other bus, my phone rang yet again. This time it had been Ayako. "So? Did it work? I asked Yoyogi Kana, actually, I wrote it down on a piece of paper and asked Rukawa to read it in front of Yoyogi-san, and being the girl that she is, she followed the instructions exactly, though we did have to nudge Rukawa a few times during this since he missed out on some parts while falling asleep." This had struck me as another surprise. So it had not been Yoyogi's plan, but from my friends instead.

"Yoyogi told the principal that she had become sick and that you had helped her get home." Ayako explained further. "Are you coming back? You have got to see this game! Ryonan and Kainan are both amazing. Sendoh is really stepping up as the new leader; even Akagi is amazed at how much he has improved! Well, you might've not cared about that, but maybe you'll care about what I'll say next. Jin is definitely into the game. They're in the lead right now. Hurry back, will you?"

I said that I was on my way, and before we parted, the crowd's shouts once again took over before it quickly died away.

It seemed to take a long time, just sitting on a bus, having to walk yet again, seeing the looming stadium before your eyes, and it's stature only seeming to get larger with every step taken towards it, and that by the time I had reached it's interior, what greeted me was the sound of the crowd, still with as much energy and enthusiasm as when I had last left it.

I was looking for a place not to sit down, but at least to catch a glimpse, but the crowd had already overflowed to every nook and cranny of the place. As I desperately wandered into the vast array of people, somebody grabbed both of my shoulders. I turned around to find it was Ayako shouting in my ears, the words barely forming in her mouth, a few of the fans who came to see staring in disbelief. Kainan, known to be the number one team in Kanagawa, the undefeated, lost.

I stared back at her in disbelief. Jin came to mind immediately. What is he thinking? What is he feeling? There was no need to ask. There, in the middle of the court, as the Ryonan team jumped in the air in delight, you could feel Kainan's spirits drowning. There, Nobunaga, his hands still holding the ball remained motionless. Not far from him was where Jin stood, both of his hands held in a tight fist. He finally let out a huge sigh, walked to his teammates, and each gave them a pat on the back. However, he had to render Kiyota twice of that before he would even move, even dared to let go of the ball. They slowly exited out of the court, towards the locker rooms where they would let their true feelings rush through.

I placed a hand on one Ayako's arms still holding both of my shoulders. Although her look was one of concern, she understood and removed her hold on me. I slowly made my way into the crowd, and into the corridors where it would lead me back to the same door I had not expected to open.

As I neared the Kainan locker, my footsteps slowed to a stop. I did not even reach the doorknob. I doubted whether I should've gone, or if I should've never come. Maybe he didn't want me to see the vulnerable side of him, as he tried to do when he was clenching his hands on the court. I scanned the walls, and finally arrived to settle on the door.

The knob began to turn, and I could hear footsteps suddenly approaching. I started to head back, while he wasn't there yet. And then I felt I could no longer move. I was being a coward, running from something like this. Didn't he stay when I had my problems? Didn't he hold out a hand for me to hold whenever I fell down?

And now what was I doing? Running away from him. I figured, I had ran away too many times that it was time for me to start running back at what I was running away from. I turned, and seeing that all I could see was the shoulders, I angled my head to look up, and saw Jin standing there, not saying anything.

"I thought you'd left." He calmly said. "You disappeared from your seat a while ago." He explained. I saw from the corner that Nobunaga had also exited the room; he looked towards our direction, and then walked away, wiping his brow with a towel. "We didn't win by the way." Jin kept on talking.

I paid my attention back at him. I examined his face. He seemed to be fine, though he was not smiling. I didn't know what to say. "It doesn't matter. You played well."

"I wonder what Maki would say about this." He sighed. "He'd be proud of each and everyone of you, for giving it your best." I replied.

"Who knows…" He adjusted the grip on his sports bag. I grabbed him by the hand, and started to walk. He didn't move from his spot. I couldn't pull him away from its grasp. "When I saw you play out there, I thought to myself, that was a side of you I hadn't seen before - a side that thought of only basketball, a side that spoke of your passion for the game, I felt the intensity with your play. And when I saw that, I thought to myself, you're a great player."

"I'll try my best next time." I felt him starting to walk. "Sure." I responded.

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Ok… I'll leave it at that… LOL… kinda like a short chapter… um.. next.. yup… I think there's only 2 or 3 chapters to go, depending on the length… next chapter… will be hagino's farewell concert… and yup, the start of Jin and Karin and what Jin was trying to say before he got called into the court… 


	23. Facing

**Disclaimer:** The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

**Kalyope Medina Erato**: yup, I agree with you… I remembered Kainan and Ryonan tied last time, so yeah I was thinking, Sendoh would be able to lead his team to win this time… hehe… well Yoyogi would do anything for Rukawa… LOL… and I just thought, Rukawa keeps on sleeping even when riding his bike, he might as well sleep while he's reading a note… hehe…

**Simmic**: well, I just erased my other message response, since it consisted of something like were you able to read it? which is irrelevant… lol… yeah, I knew we were from different time zones, but it was just the first time that I was awake while receiving a review… so I was shocked by that.. LOL… yup… only a couple of chapters to go… but the good news is… I'm starting another one after that, and no, it's not a trilogy of Karin LOL, I just thought to myself, hmmm… I'd like to write about another underused character… LOL…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

It was later made known to me that Kainan had received third place, Ryonan in second, and Shohoku's efforts finally reaping it's well earned reward, held in their hands the title as first.

However much I had wanted to watch this game, it simply could not be done, not even with such an elaborate scheme planned by Ayako, Mitsui or any other individual that wish that I personally see this game.

I was detained inside a room full of students, students who had carved in their minds the desire to belong to the fortunate group who would be granted a scholarship. And as of that moment, I was sitting on a sturdy seat, a pencil in one hand, my grip on it quite tight to prevent my fingers from shaking, as my thoughts kept on drifting back to the game. As the exam progressed, the questions undoubtedly increased in difficulty, and it evidently showed through the scrunching of my face that the exam became more problematic during those instances where my mind would slip from concentration and sink into imagination – the results of the game.

I managed, somehow, to swim back to the shore, and focus myself to be bothered only of what is currently laid before me, the exam. As the bell rang, signalling the end of the enduring task, I took a deep breath before I began to worry.

I was now standing before my table, the books still pilled on top of it, and thinking that all of the hours spent, and the work exerted, everything depended on that two hours, painstakingly trying to read, understand, and answer the questions within that limited time. I began to put them away.

That was when I noticed a small piece of paper carefully tucked in under a page from my favourite book. I began to read it, and it's content began to wash all over me. It had been the ticket to Hagino Naru's concert.

I had not talked to her since we last spoke that one afternoon when I first held the ticket in my hands. However, as I scanned its writings, I found out that today was the day of this last bid of farewell.

The concert hall was teeming with people. Most of them came together in small groups, and in the process of finding my seat, I overheard some of them either being relatives, other friends, or for some, fans to Hagino-san's music.

I settled down as soon as I found my seat and looked around. I glanced at the watch secured to my wrist. 6:40 p.m. Mitsui, Ayako, and Miyagi was nowhere in sight. But then again, they weren't really known for punctuality.

I could not find Hagino herself, and even though I desired to have more of a private conversation with her, whilst the people couldn't come to her from all corners, I knew she was backstage, preparing herself mentally, emotionally, and tuning her violin to give out the best sound. I could not bring myself to disturb such a personal space.

The people gradually filled out the seats, until only specks of unoccupied seats could be hardly seen. "Where are our seats?" I heard a familiar voice say. "It's your fault Mitsui, you were late on picking me up." I did not even need to see her to tell that it was Ayako. "What are you talking about? You were the one who took forever to get dressed up," He wasn't even finished and Ayako was already glaring at him. Mitsui pulled her closer to him. "Though I must admit it was worth the wait. You look hot." Ayako slapped him playfully before concentrating back on finding their seats; though there was a barely visible smile curving at the sides of her lips. As Ayako turned around, she saw me, and grabbed Mitsui's arm, dragging him to their seats.

"Thank god Karin's early." She sat down beside me, Mitsui sitting beside her. Mitsui looked around, and finally figured out that Miyagi was still missing.

"Oops, sorry. Sorry." Finally Miyagi came into view, still bowing down and apologizing to a few of the other members of the audience. "At least we beat Miyagi's time on being late." Mitsui commented. "Sorry guys." He made his way towards Mitsui, stepping on my feet. "Ow!" He apologized yet again, carefully walking past Ayako lest he would like for an untimely argument with Mitsui and another fan slap from Ayako, and sat beside Mitsui.

The lights dimmed, the performance soon to begin, when I realized that the seat beside me was still unoccupied. Just as I turned my head to look at the rising curtains of the stage, I heard a barely voiced Thank you, before somebody slid into the seat beside me. "Sorry, it took me some time to find this place." Behind the darkness that surrounded us, I could outline his features, recognizing from his face, and from his voice that it was Jin.

There had been no time left for conversation as the curtains were fully drawn, Hagino sitting at the center, and behind her a full orchestra was lined up magnificently, all awaiting for her lead, and for their conductor.

She stood up, and grabbed a mike. "I want to thank you all for coming to my last concert. I have spent all my life here in Kanagawa, and have known this place as my home. I will greatly miss you, and so for this night, I will try the very best that I could to deliver a performance that would sum up my feelings of gratitude, for this city, and for it's people. I hope you enjoy the night. The first performance, Arigato Gozaimashita."

She took her seat, and remained silent for a few moments, composing herself. When she was ready, she positioned the violin, and with one graceful stroke, music flooded the hall.

Everyone was enveloped in silence. Nobody even dared to move, or even shift on their seat, every single moment being held in the luscious notes that escaped from her violin, and from the unbelievable blending the orchestra was producing.

The performances described in one word would be surreal. The raw feelings emanating from her, as if she was letting every one in this audience see her as if she was transparent, as if she wanted all of us to understand where she was coming from, and if we were nodding our heads in our minds thinking, this is the feeling

The way that the notes would rapidly ascend and descend, my self so immersed that I myself felt rising and falling along with the music. The way that the music made me smile, and all of its untainted warmth rushing inside of me, or of how the painful loneliness would tug at my heart, and the bitter strike of sadness would draw tears into the corner of my eyes, everything was in the moment, and I could not help myself but be in the moment, and forget about everything and just, dive.

But sadly, as all things must come to an end, her last performance had been appropriately named, "Sayonara wa iwanaide. (Don't say goodbye)". It was perfect, for nobody could tell what the future will hold, or what will happen in our lives, and just as unexpected and unknown it was that we were to meet, so will we hold that same attitude that we will meet again. The time, the place, the date, who knows? But the hope always present.

A few tears escaped her closed eyes, and as the last notes sounded and everything was drawn into silence, it was not long before each and everyone stood up, a resonating clap of hands, it was a collage of sounds, but it still sounded as one – one of happiness and sadness all at the same time.

She stood up, and bowed to everyone, and for sometime remained that way, until she stood up straight and waved to the crowd, who responded by increasing the intensity of their clap. We joined too, overwhelmed with pride. For us, she was the best.

We were not disappointed when we expected that the people would gather around her relentlessly, but after layers of patience, they soon gradually gave her some space to breathe in and that was when we entered into the picture.

"That was so good Hagino-san!" Ayako wrapped her arms around her, still feeling the energy from her music coursing through her veins. "Thank you, Ayako-san." She was truly grateful.

"Yeah, I swear I even saw Mitsui wipe a tear or two away." Miyagi joked. Mitsui punched him in the side, not too light-heartedly for he clutched it as if it did hurt, a little. "I saw Miyagi bawling his eyes out." Mitsui retorted. We laughed at that.

After all the small talk about how wonderfully this song or that song was played, how skilfully executed this piece or that, we finally arrived to that time in which we were to part ways. But we didn't let it arrive to that point yet as we excused ourselves discreetly, allowing for Miyagi to talk with Hagino-san privately.

We were heading back home, and as we separated ourselves from the group, we found the ride peaceful and as if our minds were refreshed. Jin and I stood there at the train station, the wind playing with our hair, though his did not sway with the music for his hair was shorter. As my train arrived, I excused myself, though he didn't seem to hear me. I repeated my parting words. "Ja ne." He seemed to snap out of his reverie to look at me.

I was already walking towards the doors when he grabbed my arm and faced me to him. "Meet me tomorrow at the Shomyoji Temple at 3 p.m." I found my head shaking, the answer forming in my mouth. He laid a finger on my lips to silence me. "I'll be waiting." With that he let me go, and I looked back at him distraught. His train arrived at the other side, and he walked away without saying anything.

Would I meet him? The doors closed, and the train sailed away, and yet as I took a seat, everything became slightly blurred, like the image of the city as the train passed by.

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That is all… um.. yeah, long enough, so I'm thinking the next chapter is the last chapter… yup… hope you liked this chapter! 


	24. A New Beginning

**Disclaimer**: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?

**Kalyope Medina Burato**: I know, Hagino just kinda disappeared, and of course I couldn't end it without her concert, because well it'll be weird… lol… meeting with Jin… hmm.. LOL.. thanks for reviewing! The answer is in this chapter…

**Simmic**: whaha.. thanks… yeah, it's like the big decision thingy.. Lol.. hope you like this chapter too…

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**The Writing On The Wall**

The finger he laid on my lips kept me silent. I could not say anything, could not move from my spot. "I'll be waiting." The words kept repeating on my head. Then there was the blinding light.

I opened my eyes to realize it had all been a dream. I saw the sun striking directly at my face and closed my eyes, still not used to the intense light. My hand felt through the table for the alarm clock, until it fell down the floor and I began to scan the carpeted surface with my fingers. Once I had held it in my hands, I brought it close to my face, and slowly opened my eyes.

10:35 a.m. it read. I forced myself to get out of bed, walked over to the window and covered it with the pale coloured drapes, which blocked out some of the sunlight.

I returned to lie back down on my bed. I stared into the ceiling as I could hear the clock with its unchanging tick tock, tick tock. I tried to close my eyes, and go back to sleep, but after tossing and turning for more than enough of what I could put up with, I slowly got out of bed and walked downstairs to find something that would satisfy and muffle the sounds my stomach was making.

Everywhere I looked, it seemed that the first thing I would ever notice was the clock, and then my eyes would unconsciously search for it's hands, pointing to the numbers, and when it would all connect together, it had already been 12:40 p.m.

I sat down on the couch and switched the T.V. on. "Another new artefact from the Kamakura period was added into the list of artworks and historical artefacts that can be found in the Kanazawa Bunko Museum, located right beside the Shomyoji Temple." At that moment I turned off the T.V.

Shomyoji Temple once again came to my mind. It was as if everything that I saw reminded me of the impending decision that I had to make. I rested the back of my head at the couch, my arm covering my face for a few moments, before I decided to go back to my own room.

I sat there at the foot of my bed, staring at nothing. I thought about what would I do. What should I do? What do I want to do? Everything was floating in the air for a moment.

I asked myself a few questions. Why am I scared? Why am I hesitating? What is there to be afraid of? I couldn't answer them, for I myself did not want to submerge myself to face them.

Maybe… I don't know. I tried again. Maybe I was afraid, because, I was not yet ready. I was off to a great start. Maybe I was afraid that I'd, be hurt again. Maybe, I was just afraid to take risks. Maybe it was all of the above.

But the most important of all questions, what am I going to do now? I saw the sunlight behind me dimmed a little, and as I turned to look, the clouds were beginning to turn grey.

I glanced again at the clock. 1:15 p.m. The Shomyoji Temple wasn't exactly near our apartment either. I figured that if I was planning to arrive on time I better start preparing, right about now.

I didn't move from where I sat. What was still keeping me in here? Cowardice. I saw a flash of lightning, and after that, the thunder roared in my ears. I held myself together. After a few minutes, the first rain began to fall. And then, it was all the sound that I could hear.

I opened my eyes for the first time realizing that I had slept. The rain still poured in the background. I looked at the clock. 2:45 p.m. it looked as if I had only taken a little nap.

I finally stood up and stretched my legs; staying in one position for hours produced some really bad cramps. I looked outside and back to the clock, and whispered to myself. I didn't want to regret that I didn't go on this day. As soon as I said that, I ran to pick the time from where I had lost it.

I was already running to the train station, almost missing it if not for a kind lady that held the door open for me. I climbed inside, closing my umbrella, and kept on looking at my wristwatch. 3:30 p.m.

I tried dialling his number on my cell phone. It rang once, before the sound died. I looked at my phone. The batteries were dead. I placed it back inside my bag. I knew that I would not be able to make it. I just hoped that he would wait. That he was willing to wait.

As soon as the train stopped, I hastened my steps and found out that I still had to take a bus to get there. As soon as I arrived at it's gates, I hurried to the front of the temple. But he wasn't there. I looked at the time 4:10 p.m.

The place did not attract so many people because of the rain. I tried to search for him, but my attempt at had turned futile. I could not find him. I did not find him.

I decided that it was best that I head home. I was walking back to the apartment, half drenched from all the physical running involved, with the wind blowing on my face, bringing the cold tears in contact with my skin.

I finally reached the apartment, and upon opening the door, my aunt came to me. "Karin? Where did you go? You're all wet." She went to get a towel as I stood by the doorway. She started to dry off my hair when she said something to me.

"What did you say?" I asked. "I said Jin, I think that was his name, visited and asked for you. I told him that you had gone, and –" I didn't let her finish her explanation. "How long ago was that?" I held onto both of her shoulders, looking at her directly. "Not that long –" She was unable to finish her words as I dashed out of the house, forgetting to bring my umbrella, running towards the station.

I passed by the park, and then saw someone with a basketball not being able to get any of the shots in. He was clearly frustrated and taking it, he sat under a tree, the basketball held tightly in his arms.

I slowed down as I neared him, and finally stopped in front of him. His head looked up. Behind the hair that was plastered to his face, I could still see a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Karin." He stood up, and now it was I that found myself leaning a little bit higher to look at him face to face. "You came." I could barely hear his voice as the rain continued to pour.

"I'm sorry I'm late." I couldn't think properly at the moment. He slowly took a step towards me. "I've been wanting to tell you this," He said, and his voice was getting farther and farther away from me. "I've waited, because I could see that you weren't ready. But the longer I waited, it seemed as if you weren't getting anywhere. As if all you wanted to do was stay in the present, and not move anywhere. And I figured that we were both coming to a point in our lives that would really cause some big changes. We're both going to colleges, and start to build our future. And I wondered about us, where were we supposed to go?"

He paused as he saw me taking a step away from him. "Please don't ask me that question." I struggled against the cold. "Why?" He took two more steps towards me. "What are you so afraid of?" I could no longer step back. He held out his hand towards me. "Why is it that I should not love you?"

He reached out for my hand and pulled me into an embrace. "Tell me, what are you afraid of?" I started to cry. "I was afraid because I liked you, and that the only person who can hurt me are the people that I let into my heart!"

He held my face with both hands, and looked straight into me. "I once told you, that only you know yourself better than anybody else, and that you should listen to what it tells you. Now Listen. What does it tell you?" The rain began to subside.

We stood there for a few moments, listening to each other's heartbeats. Finally opening my eyes, I smiled. "It wants to open up to you." I looked up at him. "I wanted to." I shortly added. He smiled back at me, and kissed my forehead, moving down to my eyes, my cheeks, and lastly, to my lips.

"Thank you." He whispered to my ears. The rain had finally stopped falling. I broke away from him as the sunlight produced a crack in the cloudy skies, and watched as a rainbow was forming. He placed his arms around me from behind, and smiled upwards.

"Can I-" I placed my hand to hold his arms wrapped around me. "Can I call you Souichiro?" He laughed softly. "What do you think?" He said as he angled his head to look at me. "Um-" I blushed slightly. "Of course you can." He answered for me.

"Sou – Souichiro." I said. "Souichiro. Souichiro. Souichiro." I repeated over and over again. "Hmm?" He asked. "Nothing." I smiled back at him.

We were silent once again, just taking in everything,when I sneezed. "Excuse me." I blushed, feeling embarrassed. He started to laugh. "That just ruined the moment." He joked. I pinched him on the nose.

"Let's go back to my house so we could dry ourselves off." I suggested. He nodded and took my hand in his and his basketball resting in his other arm. "And later, we'll practice your shooting skills, I saw you, you were horrible!" I complained. It was his turn to blush. He began to dribble the ball with his left hand. "That was just because of the rain." I smiled yet again, looking back at the rainbow. I looked back at his face. He noticed this and looked at me, returning the smile. He stopped the rain from falling in me.

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LOL.. okay.. the end! Um.. yeah.. hope it was good… um… yeah.. that's all I can say right now.. lol… it's a happy ending! At last! LOL.. hope it wasn't too mushy… … lol… thanks for reading The Writing On The Wall… 


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